The Northern Kingdom
by The TurquoiseCow
Summary: SIX in a series. In hopes of breaking an unbreakable spell, Hikari and Daisuke travel to the north. This, however, is not the only reason for their travel, and will not be the only outcome. Great dangers await. Will they come out alive? COMPLETED!
1. Igamon

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part One: **Igamon

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**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters, merchandise, and money, do not belong to me. The plot of this story, however, does. In short, don't steal, don't sue. Don't forget to moo.

**PLEASE NOTE:** This is story number **_SIX_** in a series. If you don't understand what's going on, please go start at **The Dark Bandit, **and go from there, and don't waste time leaving reviews complaining about how you don't understand what's going on. I welcome new readers, but it's sort of difficult to jump in to this now.

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The sun was sinking, casting an orange glow over the vast field of tea leaves. A small cart filled with at least a hundred baskets of leaves sat at the edge of the field, hitched to a lone Monochromon. The evening was quiet, with only the insects making noise. At the edge of the cart, in the one empty space, a boy sat, watching the sunset.

"It's nearly dark now," he called into the fields. "Shouldn't we go…?"

"Yeah," Daisuke agreed, emerging from between the lush green plants. "I can't see anymore."

"About time," V-mon mumbled lazily from the back of the cart where he lay amidst the baskets, half asleep. Agumon, partner of Shijo, lay near him, snoring quietly as he'd been doing all day.

Without offering too much reluctance, the Monochromon slowly stepped forward, hauling the cart stuffed with tea leaves behind him. The wheels creaked and groaned as they clacked over stones and dirt, crossing the fields.

Suddenly, the cart jolted to a stop as the wheels locked up. The Monochromon groaned loudly and strained, trying to pull a vehicle that simply refused to move.

"What happened?" Shijo wondered, having almost fallen out of the back of the cart. He righted a few of the baskets that had fallen over and shoveled the tea leaves in with his hands.

"Who knows?" Daisuke said with a sigh. "This thing is only about a hundred years old. It sounded like _something _broke, though." He got down from the cart, wondering how he was supposed to fix an ancient cart, wondering why it was that someone hadn't bought or built a new one.

There was a soft, almost inaudible thud a few steps away from the cart. Shijo turned his head, but saw nothing in the near-darkness. A moment later, he heard another thud a few steps in the opposite direction, and turned again, squinting.

The side of the cart was covered with small metallic objects, each one embedded in the wood. Several of them had landed between the spokes of the wheels, thus preventing the wheels from turning. Curious, Daisuke knelt beside the cart, squinting through the near-darkness to see one with more clarity. Carefully, he grasped it and pulled it free.

V-mon, having been forced into wakefulness by the sudden stop that had nearly tossed him to the ground, said then, "Something's here."

"Yeah," Daisuke muttered, voice sounding annoyed. He got to his feet, and they could see that he was holding a small, metallic object. It was triangle-shaped, with each side made of a sharp blade. The polished metal glinted in the light of the setting sun. "Something not friendly, either." With a sharp thud, he set the blade into the side of the cart, where it remained solidly placed.

"What_ is_ that thing?" Shijo wondered, eyes wide. "It looks dangerous."

Daisuke would have answered, but he was distracted by the sound of a third soft thud nearby. It was quiet, almost inaudible, but he'd been listening for the past few moments – since finding the objects imbedded in the side of the cart.

"It looks like it belongs to an Igamon," V-mon replied, examining the object. "It's not often you get to see one. This one looks like it's really well made, too – whoever the Igamon got to make it is pretty skilled."

"Igamon?" the boy echoed, confused. "Why would an Igamon throw one of those at us?"

"More than one," Daisuke put in, frown deepening. "Looks like at least two dozen."

"_Two dozen_?"

"To steal tea?" Agumon suggested. When this was met with looks of disbelief from the others, he shrugged. "Perhaps they're thirsty."

"Who would steal tea leaves?" Shijo questioned, shaking his head. "Who would send _Igamon_ to steal tea leaves?"

Before this question could be answered, however, another of the sharp, three-sided blades landed in the side of the cart with a solid thud. It was not far from Shijo, and the sight of it made him quite frightened. He backed up from the edge of the cart, almost knocking over a basket of tea leaves.

"We need more light…," V-mon muttered crossly, squinting into the fields. "I can't see a thing!"

"Baby Flame!" called out Agumon, and the field was momentarily illuminated by a brief burst of flame that quickly flared and died. While it was lit, they could make out five or six small, dark shapes not too far away.

"I was right!" V-mon shouted. "Igamon!"

_Not good,_ Daisuke thought, but before he had a chance to think anything further, another of the sharp blades flew past his head, barely missing his ear. Instinctively, he dodged, ducking out of the way, dropping to the ground. Half a second later, another one flew past his left arm, slicing through the fabric of his sleeve and cutting a thin red line through his skin. Silently, he cursed, but had no time to think anything further. Two, then three more of the throwing blades embedded themselves into the side of the cart, not far from his head. Looking up, he saw one of the dark shapes he knew to be an Igamon leaping toward him through the air.

Then, another speeding object flew through the air and collided with the Igamon. It was moving so quickly and was over so fast that in the dim light Daisuke couldn't tell what it was. He thought to get to his feet, to move out of the way, but almost immediately a voice in his head said, _Don't move._

For a brief moment, he considered ignoring the command, but almost immediately afterward, another blade whizzed over his head, chopping off a lock of hair. Another dark shape appeared before him; another speeding object that he could now identify as an arrow lodged in the body of the Igamon and it dropped to the ground with a thud and deleted a moment later.

Feeling as though it might be best to get out of the way, Daisuke began to scramble to his feet, only to hear the voice in his head once more say, almost desperately now, _Don't move!_ _Please!_

_But – _he silently protested, only to feel another arrow fly past his ear so close that he could feel the feathery end on his skin. For a moment, his heart stopped beating, and then he gave in and decided to keep as still as possible.

"Whoa," he heard Shijo say, a gasp of astonishment, and then he saw, from the corner of his eye a strange white-colored blur collide with the dark shape of the Igamon. After a moment or two, they moved into focus in front of him, and he saw that the white blur was a small feline digimon. Using sharp claws that glinted in the dim light, the feline digimon sliced through several Igamon with ease.

"Daisuke!" shouted a voice he recognized, that of his sister, from somewhere behind him. For a split second, he debated turning his head, but before he could do so, another one of the blades flew dangerously close to him, once again slicing a thin line in his upper left arm. He winced, but didn't move, this time somehow expecting the arrow that zoomed past him a half-second later and destroyed the Igamon that had thrown it.

"Is that all of them, then?" Tailmon questioned, sniffing the air.

"It looks like it," answered Hikari, stepping in to view. She had thrown the bow she carried over her shoulder, and now she looked to where Daisuke was still sitting on the ground, examining the two small cuts on his arm. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, but before he could say anything else, he was interrupted by the sound of his sister's voice once more.

"Fine? _Fine?_ There were Igamon _throwing_ things at you!" she said, voice sounding hoarse, betraying the fact that, despite all the light he seemed to be making of it, Jun was very concerned. Seeing him, she turned a bit paler, gasping out, "You're bleeding, for heaven's sake!"

"I'm fine," Daisuke repeated, sighing. "It's only a scratch." Frowning, he leaned against the side of the cart to help himself up.

"It looks like a nasty cut," Jun disagreed. "Two of them! Those things are sharp! What do Igamon want with you? Who did you make angry?"

"I can't keep track anymore," he answered, shrugging, and his already concerned sister noticed that his eyes became briefly unfocused and then he blinked a few times more than necessary. The simple act of getting to his feet seemed to have tired him far more than it should have. For a few moments, she stared at him, and saw that despite his unconcerned attitude, it appeared that he was still breathing heavily, even though he hadn't done very much activity at all.

"You're_ not_ all right," she said sharply. Daisuke turned his head and opened his mouth to disagree, and then turned suddenly pale, shut his eyes, and collapsed to the ground.

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It was a cool evening, the heat of summer finally broken, at least temporarily. Gentle breezes danced through the gardens and orchards and fluttered the leaves of the trees. A thin shawl wrapped around her shoulders, Miyako stood on the veranda after sunrise and felt the breeze. The fruits of her father's orchards were ripening; she had watched the workers all day plucking the juicy objects from the trees with some jealousy. She loved the sweet taste of the fruits and ordinarily tried to pitch in as much as possible at the harvest time. This year, however, she had spent much of the last month in bed with what might have been the worst cold of her life. Although she felt well enough to help out now, her mother had refused to allow it, fearing a relapse.

Hawkmon was already asleep, as he often was in the evenings. Sometimes he would go for short fly around the grounds, but tonight he was already napping, dozing in the midst of the blankets piled on the edge of her bed, a room away.

There was a soft thud on the roof of the house behind her, and she glanced up to see that someone was standing there. It was not immediately possible to see who it was, for it was dark and the person was dressed entirely in dark clothing. After a tense moment during which Miyako wondered if her heart had stopped beating, the visitor dropped down to the veranda and could be seen clearly in the candlelight.

It was Ken, dressed entirely in dark clothing. Though he wore no mask nor hat, Miyako was certain that he had managed to sneak on to the roof not as himself, but in the guise of the Dark Bandit. It had been some time since she had seen him, having been sick, and it had been even longer since she had seen him in this way.

"Feeling better?" he questioned, adopting a casual sort of pose, as though it was perfectly normal to climb atop roofs as a means of visiting people.

"You scared me half to death," Miyako scolded, though with less ire than her words might have suggested. "Is there some reason you couldn't take the stairs?"

Ken shrugged lightly, and Miyako wondered then, as she often did, if spending time with Daisuke somehow made him more and more daring and careless. "I didn't suppose that your mother would have allowed it," he answered, "since she told me earlier today that you were still too sick to have visitors."

"Really?" she asked, and redirected her frustration towards her mother. "She didn't tell me anything about that."

Again he shrugged, folding his arms at his chest. "I would guess that your mother doesn't much approve of me," he replied, and to this Miyako couldn't help but snort. Briefly, he flashed a rare smile at this reaction.

"My mother…," she mumbled, and then shook her head, choosing for the moment not to prattle on about how her mother had taken a simple cold and overreacted, becoming far more concerned than necessary. She sighed, pushing the entire matter from her mind and then asked, "What brings you here in the middle of night?"

"Official business," he answered, standing up slightly straighter. "The queen herself asked me to make sure that you had not exaggerated your reports of recovery in your letters."

Miyako grinned cheerfully, suppressing a giggle at the formal tone of his voice. It was a rather roundabout way to say that Sora had been worried about her, and made it sound as though it was really important that he come immediately. "I haven't," she replied, struggling now to keep a straight face. "I have reported nothing but the truth."

"I would ask when you planned to return to the palace, but it would seem by your mother's reaction that it's not likely to be until spring," Ken observed, raising one eyebrow. "I don't think that will make Sora happy."

"It doesn't make _me_ happy, either," Miyako answered, frowning once more. With a sigh, she sank onto one of the benches that lined the veranda. "I don't relish the thought of staying here all winter, and yet…," again she sighed heavily. "I'm bored."

"Bored?"

"I spent most of the summer in bed," she explained. "I thought I would go crazy with boredom! Now that I finally feel better, it's about to become cold, and I'm sure that if Mother fears a relapse will occur helping out in the orchard, then she's not likely to let me travel to the palace in the cold. I'm going to go insane."

"I'm sure you won't go insane," Ken replied in a patient tone, sitting on one of the other benches. He had the immediate sense that she didn't feel remotely reassured by this reassurance.

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The sun had long since sunk, and the bedroom was lit only by candles. Opening his eyes, Daisuke felt disoriented for a moment, having expected to find the morning sun streaming in through his windows. Instead, there was only dim candlelight. Despite the cool night air, it was certainly not cold enough to warrant a fire, and yet one was crackling in the fireplace. He began to sit up, and felt a sudden, sharp pain in his left arm. Immediately, he turned and saw that a crisp white bandage had been wrapped around the spot where the blades of the Igamon had scratched through his skin.

The pain was a bit more than he had expected, and so he poked at it experimentally for a few moments, testing the area and finding it a bit more tender than expected as well. He moved the arm around, swinging it wide, and saw that movement was not hindered in the least.

There was the sound of the door opening and closing behind him, and he turned to see that Hikari had entered the room. "Feels all right?" she questioned in the same falsely casual voice she had used when she'd asked the question in the fields.

"Mostly," he answered, poking at it again. "Hurts a little. I don't understand…what happened – why…?"

"It seems that the blades were dipped into a sort of poison," Hikari answered, her voice even and calm. She sat down on the edge of the bed, as there were no chairs nearby. "There wasn't enough of it to do much harm, thankfully. It wasn't designed, so far as we can tell, to kill, but to put one to sleep."

"Which it did," he concluded, frowning.

"Yes," she said, sighing, "and I think it's no mystery what a group of Igamon might want of you – who would send them here."

Daisuke was silent for a moment, and then nodded once. "Xiao," he mumbled, clenching the tired fist of his left arm. "I didn't think he'd given up."

"No," Hikari agreed, shaking her head. "It was a mistake to think so – even though it's been two years." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I never managed to break the spell – if I had, he never would have…."

"Blaming yourself won't accomplish anything," Daisuke interrupted, now turning to face her with an intense sort of expression she had not seen in a while. "It's an impossible task, and even then, I don't know if Xiao would have given up. It's the spell itself he wants – if you figured out how to break it, he would have just wanted to know that, too."

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I would have had this up yesterday, but the site kept giving me messages about being too busy...

It has begun. Thank you to all who read and review. I hope you enjoy.


	2. The Secrets of Women

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Two:** The Secrets of Women

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters and such, is not mine. Plot, however, is. Don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

"Well," Mimi observed with a knowing sort of smile, "that didn't take long at all, did it?" 

Briefly, Hikari was aware that some color had risen to her cheeks, and she shook her head. "It's not what you think," she said in a near whisper.

"Oh?" Mimi questioned, looking past her, an even wider grin appearing on her face. She had focused this strange, slightly disturbing expression, on Daisuke now, who stared back at her, confused. "How disappointing!"

"I _said _it's not what you think!" Hikari repeated in a slightly more tense voice. "I didn't even…."

"You didn't?" Mimi echoed, obviously distressed by this information.

"It's amazing," Shijo murmured, looking around him at the large entrance hall with wide eyes. "No matter how many times I come here, I'm still amazed."

Turning away from Mimi and Hikari, who were now engaged in a rather tense, whispered conversation the likes of which he didn't feel safe involving himself in, Daisuke said in response, "Tell me again why you _did_ come?"

"To see my brother, of course," Shijo answered in a slightly indignant sort of voice. "Mama's written several long letters to him, and so I have to deliver them. That and I thought I'd tag along with you for a while – make sure you stay out of trouble."

Daisuke glanced briefly toward the girls, who were almost arguing now in hushed whispers, and then toward Shijo, who was looking up at him with an odd expression in his eyes. He sighed heavily and turned away, heading out of the entranceway to turn down a long corridor. After a few seconds more of staring around him in awe, Shijo hurried to follow him.

"It was either me or your sister, you know," he continued. "Would you really have preferred that she come along?"

Daisuke glanced down at him briefly and then appeared to be considering the question with some seriousness. "It's all the same, really," he answered then, which did not make Shijo the least bit happy. "She would have followed me around worrying, and you follow me around…."

"Helping!" Shijo insisted. "Don't tell me that you don't find me at least a bit useful!"

"Useful?" he echoed. "Useful at what? What have you done this entire trip that's been helpful? You didn't drive here! You didn't carry the luggage in!"

"I would have," the boy answered indignantly, "if there weren't others to do those things!"

"There is no point in working him to the bone," came a voice from nearby, sounding amused. Yamato stood in the hall, having recently emerged from his room, which was a few steps away. "You'll have trouble finding help if you do that."

Daisuke sighed again. "I don't _need_ help," he replied.

"Hmm," Yamato answered with a shrug, frowning. "You may not think you do, but it wouldn't be a bad idea. Of course, he's probably not particularly qualified…."

"Qualified?"

"…but he could learn, I'm sure," Yamato finished.

"Learn what?" Daisuke questioned skeptically.

"I _could_ learn!" Shijo put in, greatly cheered by this idea.

Yamato shrugged casually, now grinning in much the way Mimi had earlier. Daisuke began to get the feeling that something was going on that he had missed. "If you're going to pursue a life as a servant, then it's necessary to know a few things more than I think he's bothered to teach you," he said, speaking to Shijo now.

"I said I don't need…," Daisuke put in, feeling ignored.

"So you think," Yamato answered, interrupting him before he'd even begun to finish speaking, "but you may find that you're wrong." Grinning toward Shijo, he said, "Come with me, and I'll find someone who can teach you."

* * *

"I understand it's best to take it slowly," Miyako said with a sigh, "but it's ordinarily only a day or two's journey to the palace – not _four_ days."

"It's better safe than sorry," Mimi replied in an uncharacteristically serious tone of voice as she helped her remove the warm cloak she'd worn on the journey. "No one is eager to see you fall ill again. We were all terribly worried while you were sick. Perhaps it would have been better to stay at home?"

For a brief moment, Miyako appeared as though she was seriously entertaining thoughts of murder. Mimi, handing off the cloak to a waiting servant, was oblivious. Ken, however, had noticed, and placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head slowly. Miyako sighed, collecting herself, and answered, in a calmer voice than she felt, "Maybe."

"Ah well," Mimi said, turning back. "You're here now, and there's no turning back time, right? Sora's been eager to see you – something she wants to tell you, but she won't say what. If I were you, I'd come along quickly before she bursts. Not too quickly, of course…we wouldn't want to trigger a relapse."

Miyako clenched the fingers of her right hand briefly and forced herself to keep silent. Once again, Mimi seemed oblivious to her near-death experience.

"As for you," she said, then, turning to Ken, "you ought to go and talk some sense into Daisuke!"

"Sense?" he echoed, confused. Mimi shook her head.

"Idiots, the lot of them," she muttered, and turned back to Miyako. "Come along, then. Unless you'd like to rest first, of course?"

"No!" Miyako answered a little too loudly, and took a few purposeful steps in the correct direction.

* * *

"If it _is_ possible," Hikari was saying, "then maybe the solution can be found somewhere in the north. Certainly there hasn't been any success looking around here – but in the north, where they still use similar spells, it might be possible to find some way of breaking it."

"Perhaps," Taichi answered. He was lounging in an overstuffed armchair, his legs thrown over one arm, his head over the other. It was a rather undignified posture, but he didn't seem to care. Instead, he was studying the ceiling with a bit more intensity than was usually given to ceilings.

"That's not the only reason you want him to go with you, is it?" Sora questioned. Like Mimi, she had a certain knowing smile and look in her eyes, to which Hikari once more felt heat rising in her cheeks. Sora was seated in an overstuffed armchair in the conventional manner. To Hikari, she had seemed slightly paler than before, but it might only have been because she had chosen to wear a dark green dress.

Taichi turned his head toward his sister for the answer to this question. Though his pose was undoubtedly calm, and his expression was one of casual interest, his eyes were focused on her face. Thankfully, before the question could be answered, there was a light tap on the door, and Mimi entered with Miyako behind her.

"Look who's arrived!" Mimi announced cheerfully. "Alive and well, despite rumors to the contrary!"

"Rumors?" Miyako echoed, confused, but the others took no notice.

"Miyako! Oh, you didn't need to rush here on my behalf," Sora said, getting to her feet. "It's no hurry – you could rest for a bit more if you need to…."

"I'm through with resting!" Miyako half-shouted, obviously rather exasperated. "I am completely recovered and quite capable of making a single day's journey in four days."

"Four days?" Hikari echoed after a moment of stunned silence. "Why on earth did it take you four days?"

Miyako sighed. "My mother's insistence that I stop for a rest every two hours or so," she replied. "She told the driver that, and he refused to speed up at all, but followed her instructions to the letter."

"She's only worried," Sora told her, and took her hand in her own. "Come, I have much to tell you."

A moment later, they were gone. Hikari sighed and sat down in the armchair that Sora had vacated. Taichi turned and peered up at the ceiling again, watching his sister out of the corner of his eye, saying nothing.

* * *

Mid-afternoon, the sun high in the sky, found Daisuke in the gardens, doing nothing. To be precise, he was lying on a low stone wall, feeling the cool late-summer breeze, peering up at the blue sky, through which a parade of white, fluffy clouds was floating, but really this amounted to nothing substantial. He could hear distant conversation between other people who were wandering in the gardens, but he didn't feel in the mood to join in any of them, so he lay still, hoping he wouldn't be noticed. It wouldn't be long before most of the young lords and ladies who came to the palace for the summer months returned home to their families for the long winter, leaving the gardens and corridors barren.

Jun had protested a great deal about the idea of Daisuke traveling north for the winter. It went completely against conventional wisdom, for the kingdom of the north was considered to be a barren, frozen land. Even Hida, at the northern edges of Yagami, had bitterly cold winters during which huge snowstorms were not uncommon. Truthfully, he could think of no real reason why he should go. Hikari, too, had admitted that it was not _entirely necessary _for him to come along, but some how her mumbled, hesitant answer to this question had convinced him of the opposite. So it was that he had told his sister that, one way or another, he was going, and Jun had responded with the statement that they were both insane.

If Hikari's real reason for heading north was to seek out a possible counter-spells, then it was true that he didn't precisely need to come. Certainly it would be helpful to know immediately if a possible spell worked, but even with this reasoning, a trip could wait until spring or even next summer. If she had some other purpose for heading north, he didn't know it, and although his mind occasionally wandered in that direction, he pushed the thought away.

"Working hard, I see," said a voice then, startling him from his thoughts so much that he nearly fell off the wall. It was Ken, who had approached and sat down on the stones beside him without making any sound at all. He was now grinning a rather smug-looking smirk.

Daisuke sat up, frowning toward him. "And you?" he returned. "I see you're busy…touring the gardens?"

Ken had no response to this but another smug smirk, so Daisuke frowned even harder, upset now that his thoughts had been interrupted. "I was told to come find you and talk sense into you," Ken said instead. "I don't know what that means, so I don't know how to do that…but if Mimi asks, I did."

Forgetting his frown, Daisuke blinked at him for a moment and then shook his head. "I think someone ought to talk sense into Mimi," he replied grumpily and lay back down on the stone wall. The white clouds were floating peacefully overhead. A cool breeze danced through the flowers. "She acts stranger and stranger every time I see her."

Ken didn't say anything to this. It wasn't necessary. Instead, he yawned and shrugged. "Miyako might kill her," he commented casually. "She was looking at her with this very dangerous, scary expression."

Daisuke laughed, a short burst. "Miyako's here?" he asked. "I thought she was in bed with a horribly bad cold and might die herself at any moment."

"So the rumors said," answered Ken. "She seems fine now, though I can't say the same for anyone else if they suggest she get some rest."

The only appropriate response to this was a grin, and then they both lapsed into silence for a few moments. Daisuke watched a cloud gently float overhead, momentarily blocking the sun. Ken watched a small insect buzz around one of the daisies. It landed on an outer petal and began to make its way inward along the bright yellow surface.

"So…," Daisuke began with the air of someone who has something to ask but doesn't know quite how to say it. "How was Hida when you went?"

This was such an odd question to ask that Ken was taken off guard for a few moments. "Hida?" he echoed dumbly, distracted from the insect on the daisy. "It was…a very small village…friendly people, mountains all around it, Airdramon soaring all over the skies."

"Hmm."

The insect had reached the center of the daisy. For a few minutes, it walked around, and then it flew off again in search of other flowers of more interest. No longer able to contain his curiosity, Ken gave in and asked, "Are you going to Hida?"

"I don't know," he answered, and yawned. "Maybe. Probably we'll pass through it. Is that the farthest north you've ever been?"

"So far as I can remember," Ken answered. "Why are you going to pass through Hida? Are you heading further north?"

"Yeah," Daisuke answered, and then waited for the inevitable question that would follow – the why? Once again his thoughts veered toward his sister and the argument they'd had before he'd left home. Why? The truth was, he wasn't quite sure why he was going.

* * *

In an empty, bright room with tall windows, Sora took a seat in another plush armchair. Miyako noted the sigh of relief she breathed when she sat down, and noted the slightly paler tint of her skin.

"Don't tell me you're getting sick, too," she said, taking a seat across from Sora. "I hope you haven't got what I had…."

"Do I look sick?" Sora questioned with some alarm. Her eyes grew wide and she sat up a bit straighter.

"A bit pale," Miyako answered. "You seem tired."

Sora sighed and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. "I'm not sick," she answered. "Actually…I'm doing pretty well."

Worries abated for the moment, Miyako fell silent, sensing that there was more to be said, and waited. Outside, a gentle but cooling breeze blew through the trees and the curtains rustled. For a moment, the room grew slightly colder, but then the wind passed and the chill went with it.

"Actually," Sora began again, and sat up straight once more, "I think…no…I know, I'm certain…that… I'm pregnant."

A stronger breeze ruffled the curtains and caused the flame in the fireplace to flicker. Miyako's eyes grew slowly wider and her mouth fell open. There was no sound but the beating of her heart. "You're certain?" she found herself saying.

Sora nodded. "I'm certain," she answered. "The doctors know, of course. Jyou is positively sick over it because I told them all not to tell Taichi yet."

"H-he doesn't know?" Miyako echoed, eyes growing even wider.

She shook her head. "No. I didn't want anyone to know yet."

"Why not?" the younger girl demanded, sitting forward in her chair. "Don't – don't you want to have a child?"

"Of course I do," Sora replied, and then sighed. "As soon as everyone discovers the truth, they'll be wanting me to stay in bed – they'll treat me as though I'm sick or dying! I want to put _that_ off as long as possible."

"Wouldn't staying in bed be a wise idea, though?" Miyako questioned.

"I'm not going to keep it a secret forever," she returned. "Eventually, the truth would be discovered. I don't want to have to spend the whole time in bed, though."

Having spent much of the last month in bed herself, Miyako found that it was not impossible for her to sympathize, both with Sora and with those who had wanted her to stay in bed. She leaned back in her seat again.

"That and…I wanted you to be the first to know," Sora added. "Now that you're here…I suppose I can't put it off any longer."

* * *

Sorry, but no action in this chapter. I promise there will be some later in the story. There's a bit of confusion in this chapter, but it will make more sense later on. For anyone who's confused or simply wondering, this story takes place about two years after the last story (_the crystal gate). _


	3. Revelations I

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Three**: Revelations I

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters, etc, is not mine. The plot to this, however, is. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

Evening had fallen on the palace grounds, and the inhabitants, having finished their meal, were preparing for the night. As summer was in its last days, the night promised to be cooler, and so fires were lit for warmth in every occupied room.

It was too early to be considering sleeping, and so Daisuke and Ken were playing a game of cards. It was not a serious competition, for in truth neither one had his mind completely on the game. This made the activity a bit quieter than might have otherwise been expected. Despite how early it was, both V-mon and Wormmon had fallen to sleep already. Cool breezes, almost cold, drifted through the half-open windows.

"I wish I knew what she meant," Ken said suddenly, breaking the otherwise complete silence. "I know it's only Mimi and she's…odd…but I feel like there might be something else going on."

Daisuke shrugged absently and placed a card on the pile between them. "If it's something Mimi's worried about, maybe it's better if we don't know," he answered, and then yawned, more from inactivity than sleepiness.

Ken peered over his hand of cards with questioning eyes. "You aren't the least bit curious?"

"Some things are better left mysterious, right?"

There was silence for a few moments as Ken considered this statement. He selected a card and set it on the pile. "Some things," he conceded, frowning.

Daisuke set a card down in response, and the game continued in silence for a few moments, uninterrupted by the sound of V-mon's quiet snoring on the couch nearby. There was a light tap at the door and when it opened, Miyako poked her head in.

"I see you're busy with important things," she commented wryly. "Hope I'm not interrupting."

"Must be pretty desperate if you've come to bother me," Daisuke mumbled in mock annoyance, peering at his hand of cards as though it was terribly interesting. Ken raised one eyebrow at this comment, but said nothing.

Miyako snorted but otherwise ignored him, and stepped around the low table the cards were setting and pulled up another chair. "Who's winning?" she asked.

Daisuke shrugged. Ken frowned. "No idea," he answered.

"What game are you playing, anyway?" she questioned, looking back and forth between their hands and the pile on the table.

Ken shrugged. "Who knows," Daisuke replied, setting down another card. After a moment, Ken set another card on top of this, which seemed to be completely unrelated to the card Daisuke had set down. Miyako stared at them both for a moment and then gave up, sighing.

"I'll never understand you – either of you," she said, and leaned back in the chair.

"Some things are not meant to be understood," Ken replied in an important-sounding voice. Miyako rolled her eyes.

* * *

The night was quiet and peaceful. For once, the evening meal had been calm and slow, and all involved had decided it was a better night for resting than for any other sort of amusements. Sora was glad of this – she felt more tired than she ought to have. Miyako's comment that she appeared tired and pale worried her, for if she had noticed, surely others had, and it wouldn't be long before rumors would start to circulate that she was becoming sick.

Some part of her was more nervous about telling Taichi than giving birth or becoming a mother. She was sure that he'd be happy about it, but she was also fearful – though she couldn't quite explain why. Partly she was, as she had explained to Miyako, afraid of being babied, of having doctors fuss over her night and day.

For now, she was lounging in an overstuffed armchair in a small parlor otherwise emptied of people. There was a book in her lap, and a lamp burned brightly on the table beside her, but her mind was not paying much attention to the words.

A curtain waved in the breeze of a half-opened window, startling her by making a sound. Silently, she chided herself for being far too nervous. There was a light tap on the door, then, and once more her heart began to race with anxiety. She nearly leapt out of the chair.

"Oh, there you are," Taichi said, poking his head into the room with a grin. "You went and disappeared for a bit. Hiding from someone?"

She knew he meant Jyou, who had been almost following her around for the past few days as though she might fall sick at any moment. His fears were not completely unfounded, but to anyone else, it seemed that he was acting only slightly more strangely than his usual fretful self.

"Everyone, really," she answered truthfully. "I'm sorry, did you need me for something?"

He shook his head. "No, no, enjoy your getaway. I only wanted to make sure everything was all right." He began to withdraw his head from the room.

"Taichi…," Sora began hesitantly. Immediately her heart began to race, and she willed it to slow down. _What's wrong with now? _she demanded of herself. _He'll have to know eventually._

He paused, head halfway out the door, and turned back to her expectantly, waiting. "Yes?" he asked, when a few moments had gone by in which she did not follow up.

"Are you…busy right now?"

Something about the tone of her voice must have told him that she really didn't want him to be, and that something might be wrong, because he opened the door the rest of the way and stepped into the room. "Something's wrong?" he asked, immediately assuming the worse, and shut the door behind him quietly.

"No, no!" she answered, waving both hands. "Nothing's _wrong_. I…um…I have something I need to tell you, that's all…."

* * *

Shortly before dawn, Hikari was sleeping peacefully in bed, dreaming. It was snowing lightly, and she was drinking hot tea beside a fire in a small cabin. Outside the window, there was nothing to be seen but snow as far as the eye could travel. The fire crackled and the snow fell quietly. The tea tasted delicious.

Suddenly, a rapid barrage of knocks came at the door. Slowly, it grew louder and more frantic, and Hikari could hear a voice from outside shouting her name. It sounded like her brother. Was Taichi outside in the snow? Had he gone to fetch more wood? Someone was shaking her, and Taichi was shouting louder.

"Hikari!" he shouted, and she forced her eyes open. The blurry face of her brother appeared in front of her, shaking her awake. In one hand, he was holding a candle, and there was barely enough light for her to recognize him.

"Mm-hmm?" she mumbled, too sleepy to open her mouth and form words. In the back of her mind she thought that maybe something was wrong, and that was why he was waking her up so early, but she was too tired to really think about this.

"It's the greatest thing!" he shouted, and then went on to say a few things more that she couldn't make out because she was too tired and he was speaking very quickly.

Hikari blinked in his direction a few times while he spoke, dimly aware that she couldn't understand a word he was saying – only that Sora's name was thrown in a few times. He didn't seem to be too upset, however, and so she decided that it wasn't something bad. When he stopped talking, he seemed to be waiting for a reaction, and so she nodded and mumbled, "Mm-hmm," again.

"Yes!" he said, obviously overjoyed by her reaction, and then hugged her tightly. Then, he rushed out of the room, letting the door slam behind him.

"What's going on?" Tailmon mumbled sleepily, opening one eye.

"Don't know," Hikari answered, and fell back to sleep.

* * *

Miyako slept late that morning, and by the time she had awakened, nearly everyone else in the palace had finished eating breakfast and the cooks were thinking about what to make for the afternoon meal. Not wishing to bother anyone, Miyako slipped into the kitchen and stole a bit of fruit to tide her over and then went out to the gardens to eat it.

What she really wanted to do was to go and see Sora, to make sure she was all right and to find out if she had told Taichi yet, but as she had spoken to her the day before, Miyako thought it might be best to give her a bit of time. If Sora _had_ told Taichi, then it was likely they'd want to be alone for a bit, and Miyako didn't want to disturb them if that was the case. She sat on a low stone wall and ate the juicy, fresh fruit, feeling a bit envious of Sora for a short while.

The air was cool for summer but warm for fall, and a few other people had taken to wandering the gardens, enjoying the weather while it lasted. Mostly, however, the paths were traversed by servants, some of whom appeared to be hurrying quickly along to some task. Taking another bite of the fruit, Miyako laid back along the wall and stared up at the sky, letting her mind wander along thoughts of her own uncertain future.

"I see that you're awake," Ken's voice interrupted her thoughts, and she turned her head to see that he had stopped on the path beside the stone wall. "That means you're feeling all right, then?"

"I'm _fine_," Miyako said for what felt like the nine thousandth time since she'd arrived the day before. "I'm allowed to sleep in once in a while without people digging my grave, aren't I?"

Ken shrugged absently, wisely knowing that any response he could have come up with to this rhetorical question was likely to be the wrong one. Instead, he fell silent, and Miyako returned to her musings, wondering whether the baby would be a boy or a girl and what they would chose to name it and what it would look like. Her thoughts wandered to her older sister Momoe and her baby, who was nearly two years old now, and then to herself.

"It won't be long now before winter comes," Ken said then, interrupting her thoughts. Miyako blinked and turned toward him, pulling herself up into a sitting position. This was a seemingly unrelated statement, relating to nothing else but the weather around them, and for this reason she stared at him for a few moments, waiting for him to say more. Ken had never much liked small talk, speaking about things like the weather and the possibility of rain. He preferred to let the silence exist rather than filling it with talking about nothing. For him to initiate it, to break the silence with a comment on the weather, was odd.

When he'd said nothing more after a few moments, Miyako tried to guess where his mind was wandering. Was he thinking of the need to get some new boots, or was he considering the possibility of travel being hindered by snow? Or, she thought, were his thoughts of darker things that she could only vaguely guess at.

"A few weeks before it gets cold," she finally said in response, curiosity screaming in her head. "Probably another month or two before there's any snow, though."

"Further north," he said, "it snows earlier."

Miyako had never been very far north, and never in the winter. The furthest north she had been was to Hida, and that was in late spring. Even then, it had been chillier than she'd expected, but the snow had melted. Ken had gone with her on that trip, about a year ago. She'd wanted to visit Iori, and he had unexpectedly volunteered to travel along.

"Have you been very far north?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Hida, so far as I can remember. I have heard, though."

Miyako nodded. "Mimi said that the storms in Tachikawa can be blinding blizzards," she remembered. "I remember that Iori wrote that the snowdrifts were taller than he was last winter."

Ken had nothing to say to this, only a nod, and he lapsed into silence once more. Miyako waited, knowing that something must be on his mind. Finally, she ventured, "Are you planning on going north in the snow?"

He shook his head. "No. Daisuke …."

It was then that Miyako remembered a conversation that she'd had with Hikari the day before. She had not, to Miyako's great relief, asked her if she was feeling all right, which had so pleased her that she had nearly forgotten what _had_ been said. Now, though, Ken's words reminded her. "Ah, right," she said, nodding. "Hikari told me yesterday they're planning to head north. I would go with them if it wasn't so near to winter." She sighed. "I think my mother would have a heart attack if she thought I wanted to head north."

* * *

The plan was to spend a week, maybe less, at the palace before traveling north, and so Daisuke wasted no time on his second day there and began getting things together for the journey. He'd wisely brought all of his winter clothes with him from home, but now, with the entire contents of the heavy trunk opened and spread out around the room, he could see that it would probably be a good idea to leave some of it behind. The difficulty, of course, was in trying to figure out what to take.

He began the task shortly before noon, and two hours later he had managed to sort some of the clothes. On the bed was a pile of shirts that he had decided not to take, and on the floor at the foot of the bed was a pile of pants that were also staying behind. Those he planned to bring were piled on the overstuffed armchair near the fireplace. The rest of the room was covered with socks, jackets, scarves, boots, mittens, gloves, shoes, and hats. As the first part of the task had taken him two hours, Daisuke was not eager to finish it. He sat down on the bed and flopped backwards, feeling a bit worn out.

There was a light tap on the door and he turned his head to see past the pile of shirts, not bothering to sit up. Miyako peered around the edge of the door and, at first glance, saw no sign of life in the room.

"Either he's packing for a journey or he's decided to get rid of all his clothes and donate them to the needy," Hawkmon commented, having followed his partner. "Maybe they've all gone out of style."

V-mon, half asleep on a pile of shirts in front of the fire, laughed out loud at this statement and rolled over onto his stomach to survey the room. He yawned widely and pulled a sleeve over him for warmth.

"Somehow, I don't think he would much care," Miyako said, stepping over a pair of boots in front of her. "You're not bringing all of this are you?" she asked, spotting Daisuke beneath the piles of clothing on his bed. "Hikari didn't tell me how long you'd be gone, but unless you're planning to move…."

"I don't think she knows," he answered, sitting up. "I'm sorting."

This fact was not obvious from the sight of the room. Miyako peered around with an air of skepticism. "Is that what this is?"

Daisuke narrowed his eyes in Miyako's direction. "I didn't ask for _your_ opinion," he replied crossly, lifting the pile of unwanted shirts from the bed. He crossed the room to a large wardrobe and stuffed them on to a shelf within.

Miyako shrugged, unconcerned, and sat down on the space he'd made on the bed. "So the plan is to head north for an undetermined amount of time," she concluded. "Do you have any idea where you're going?"

He didn't answer, instead loudly shutting the door to the wardrobe. The now-empty trunk lay open on the floor, and he began to lift piles of shirts from around the room and toss them into it. Miyako waited a few moments and then sighed.

"Daisuke," she began again, trying to indicate with her tone of voice that she wasn't interested in starting an argument, but in gaining information. "Do you know…?"

"Does it matter?" he returned before she could finish the sentence. He shut the lid of the trunk and sat down on it, suddenly appearing to be tired. He ran one hand threw his hair and sighed heavily.

"Maybe it does," Miyako answered, shrugging as though it didn't much matter to her. She got to her feet, sensing that an argument might soon start if she stayed much longer, and not being much in the mood to argue.

* * *

Aside from times of celebration or important visitors, the evening meal at the palace was ordinarily a quiet affair, with small groups eating when and what they pleased. Sometimes, a huge meal would be prepared for the entire population, but most times a series of smaller meals were made, and the palace's residents ate in small dining rooms. Often, though not always, Hikari would eat in the same room with her brother. This evening, she had not seen him most of the day, and so was planning leaving him be and having dinner with Miyako and Mimi. In the late afternoon, however, a young man appeared at the door of the sewing room.

Mimi had, upon learning that Hikari planned to travel north in the midst of winter, taken it upon herself to see that the princess had enough warm clothing for the journey. Although it was on quite short notice, she'd enlisted the help of her favorite seamstresses and ordered the creation of a dozen new cloaks and sweaters and hats and hoods. She'd also decided that extra layers of fabric should be sewn into many of her skirts. As Mimi was from the northernmost areas of the kingdom, she was familiar with the harsh ravages of winter. As happy as she was for the help, Hikari was nonetheless relieved when the young man interrupted the task to inform them both that they would be wanted for dinner.

"Well, of course we'll be there!" Mimi replied cheerfully, setting down the cloak she'd been inspecting. "This _is_ unexpected. I'll have to change, of course." She looked at the dress she'd been wearing, which, although perfectly fine, was covered in tiny bits of thread and fabric accumulated during the past few hours of working with thread. "I wonder what the occasion is!"

It was only then that Hikari remembered, as though she was remembering a dream, that early morning memory of her brother bursting into the room before dawn, overjoyed about something.

* * *

At Mimi's insistence, Miyako had changed into nicer clothing for dinner, and she saw that everyone else who had gathered had done the same. They were gathered in one of the many dining rooms in the palace, the small group chatting amiably amongst themselves about what might be the reason Taichi had wanted them all to gather.

It wasn't long before he and Sora had arrived, and the meal was brought in. Observant diners noted that both seemed happy, and that each time they glanced toward each other, they were beaming. Miyako was hard-pressed to keep herself from grinning widely at the sight, and she noticed that Jyou – the only other person who had known the truth – was looking much more relieved than he had in recent weeks. The meal was peaceful and calm, however.

"Do you really plan to leave at the end of the week?" Taichi questioned of his sister, who had been eating in silence, trying to remember what had happened that morning.

"As soon as possible," she replied. "I'd like to go before the winter gets too intense and traveling is difficult."

"Hmm," he said, taking a bite of the food on his plate. "When do you think you'll be back?"

Hikari sighed and took a sip of her drink. "I'm not sure," she confessed. "I hope it won't be for too long, but…I don't know how long it will take."

"Which part exactly?" Taichi questioned, winking. Hikari fell silent, obviously made somewhat uncomfortable by the question.

"Will you tell us now, then?" Mimi interrupted before anything more could be said. She was sitting on the edge of her chair, having finished her meal, waiting for an answer. "What is the reason you've called us all here?"

Taichi smiled, a wide, happy sort of smile, and glanced first around the table and then toward Sora, who smiled back toward him. "I won't," he answered. "I'll let Sora tell it."

* * *

This story has been a little slow to start, but I promise there's some action coming up. Thanks for reading. 


	4. Hida

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Four: **Hida

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon,_ all related characters, money, etc, is not mine. Plot **is**. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

The second morning of the journey dawned with the scent of approaching winter and a sharp snap of cold in the air. Daisuke pulled the blanket tighter around him and forced his eyes open in the bright sunlight. Even within the hastily-constructed tent, the sun and cold managed to wake him. He shivered in the early morning, finding that the blanket he was using was fairly useless for warmth. He sat up, rubbing his arms for warmth, and saw that Shijo was still snoring peacefully under his own blanket on the opposite side of the tent. V-mon was buried somewhere within the blankets, oblivious to the cold.

Daisuke dressed as quickly as possible, pulling on an extra pair of socks to keep his feet warm. He put on two shirts; one tighter-fitting one for insulation underneath a loose, warm sweater, and then pulled a knit cap over his already cold ears. Pushing aside the tent flaps, he stepped out into the bright, cold sunlight.

They had made camp for the night, as it was easier than finding an inn in this part of the kingdom, where villages were few and far between and travelers were uncommon. Here, in the midst of an empty field of tall grass, there were neither buildings nor people to be seen for quite some distance. The cold was certainly bitter, and a light frost covered the ground around them. Daisuke silently praised himself for having taken the time to cover the firewood with a bit of cloth, thus keeping it dry for the morning. Without wasting a bit of time, he gathered some of it together and lit a fire for warmth.

When feeling had returned to his nose and fingers, he rummaged through the food they'd brought and managed to find a bit of oats, a pot, and some bowls. Before long, the smell of oatmeal filtered through the camp. He then found a kettle, some tea, and some mugs. The water began to boil at almost the exact moment that Hikari emerged from the other tent, a blanket wrapped over her shoulders for warmth.

"It seems winter really does arrive earlier the further north you go," she commented sleepily, holding both her hands over the fire. "I didn't expect this cold so soon." She shivered and yawned again. Daisuke poured a bit of hot water into a mug and passed it to her.

"I think we can make it to Hida by the time the sun sets," he said, scooping some of the oatmeal into bowls. "So tonight we'll have warm beds and blazing fires."

Hikari sipped some of the hot tea and smiled. "That sounds nice," she said, feeling the heat of the tea warm her blood.

* * *

By the time the sun set however, there was no sight of Hida; of the ancient, towering manor that was said to be visible from some distance away nor the village which surrounded it. They could see mountains in the distance; dark, shadowy shapes that touched the clouds and kept on going. They seemed so near, and yet so far away.

"It can't be much farther," Hikari said, squinting in the dim light, searching her memories for the information she'd learned of how to get to Hida. "We've been traveling along the right road for two days. I don't see how we could have gotten lost – we never strayed from the path."

"Well, it couldn't have moved," Tailmon replied. "Maybe it was three days' journey?"

"No, it was two," V-mon disagreed. He was peering over one of the hand-drawn maps Iori had created since moving to the northern reaches. "Two days journey north and a bit west along this clearly marked road," he pointed toward a black, thick line that meandered toward the top of the paper, "which we have definitely been following."

"Maybe Iori traveled faster when he went?" Daisuke wondered. He was looking toward the northwest, where the sky looked a bit darker than expected. Thick clouds had gathered above the horizon. A cool wind blew across the wide open plains. He sniffed the air. It smelled like winter.

"I don't see how that's possible, either," Hikari answered. "He would have taken Monochromon," she gestured toward the large digimon, "and they only move one speed."

"Slow or slower," V-mon muttered under his breath.

"So – now what?" Shijo questioned after a moment of silence had passed. He was perched at the top of the carriage, having convinced Daisuke of his usefulness by driving. "Do we stop for the night and wait until morning or keep on going?"

Hikari sighed. "I was looking forward to warm bed tonight instead of the ground," she admitted, "but I'm not looking forward to heading on in the dark."

"Especially considering we don't know where we're going and we might be lost," Tailmon added sensibly.

"It looks as though there's a storm brewing," Daisuke reported, pointing northwest. Another cool breeze, stronger this time, rustled the grasses at their feet. The Monochromon grunted. "Maybe we ought to keep going – try to get to some sort of shelter before it comes?"

"Do you think it will come that fast?" Shijo asked.

There was a moment of silence as they all considered this. It was too early in the season for there to be any sort of blizzards brewing, but even a bad rainstorm would be difficult to weather in a tent in the middle of nowhere. None of them were familiar enough with this part of the world to know if quick-forming storms were common, though they knew that storms of any kind could be devastating. Another, stronger gust of wind blew across the plains. In the distance, Hikari thought she might be able to see a flash of lightning where the storm was.

"Let's not risk it," she decided. "Let's keep going. Even if we don't find Hida, we're bound to find some sort of shelter eventually. If the storm _does_ reach us, then I'd rather not be out in it when it does."

Decision made, there was no time to waste. Quickly, they reentered the carriage, and Shijo urged the reluctant Monochromon forward. After a few minutes of travel, the wind changed from cool, gentle breezes that rustled the grasses to cold blasts that sent shivers down his spine. The Monochromon, sensing the approaching storm even better than their driver, moved even slower and slower, more reluctant than ever. A few drops of rain began to fall then; big, huge drops of water that thudded on the roof of the carriage and echoed in the empty plains. Shijo pulled his knit cap down over his ears for warmth and urged the Monochromon onward, trying to ignore the fact that his fingers were even more reluctant to move than the Monochromon.

He thought he heard a thud below him, but it was difficult to hear over the roaring of the wind and the thudding of the raindrops, which were slowly increasing in intensity. Then, Shijo heard a voice calling his name, and he turned to see that Daisuke had climbed to the top of the carriage. The Monochromon were trudging along at such a slow pace now that it wasn't necessary to question how he'd managed to climb up while they were moving.

"It's hard to see through the rain," Shijo told him, speaking a bit louder over the sound of the rain thudding in his ears. Daisuke nodded, understanding.

"Go inside," he said, pointing toward the ground. "I'll do this."

"But I…," the boy began, and then broke off. Much as he wanted to drive the entire way, he had to admit that he had little experience with traveling in the midst of a storm, and he _was_ cold. So he pried his cold fingers from the reins and climbed down the side of the carriage. It was difficult to get the door open, but he managed.

"You're soaked!" Hikari said upon seeing him, and immediately found a blanket from under the seats. "And frozen! Maybe we _should_ stop."

The carriage _was_ moving, however, and a bit quicker than before, even. Over the sound of the squeaky wheels, the pounding rain, and the roaring wind, they could hear the sound of the Monochromon moaning in protest. Tailmon, V-mon, and Agumon were sitting on the plush seat cushions, staring at the roof of the carriage as though expecting the rain to come through the ceiling.

"I wouldn't worry about it," V-mon said with a lighthearted tone. "If anyone can get us through the mud and the rain, it's Daisuke."

Tailmon shrugged and leaned back on the seat. "He's not exactly the worst driver," she admitted grudgingly.

"If he doesn't drown, that is," Agumon added. "It sounds like it's pouring enough to flood this place."

"I don't think it floods here," Hikari told them all, seeing that V-mon appeared rather concerned about this possibility, although he was trying not to show it. "He'll be soaked, but he won't drown."

* * *

Several hours later, they were all wrapped in blankets to ward off the chill. Though the carriage was well made and no rain had managed to penetrate the inside, some of the wind had, and it was cold. The rain continued relentlessly, pounding heavily on the roof. Hikari expected that Daisuke would eventually give in and come back inside, admitting defeat against the storm and the cold and the night, but the carriage continued moving forward at a slow but steady pace. She wondered how he could even see where they were heading.

After what felt like an eternity, the wheels squeaked to a halt. Shijo, who had nearly fallen to sleep despite the sound of the rain and the cold, lifted his head and opened his half shut eyes. "Are we there?" he asked sleepily.

"I don't know," Hikari answered. She pushed aside a curtain on the nearest window and squinted out, but there was only darkness to be seen, for the sun had long since sunk. After waiting a few moments, she pushed open the door. "Daisuke?"

Suddenly, a flickering lamplight appeared, and another voice called through the night, "Hikari? Is that you?"

"Finally!" Tailmon said upon hearing the voice. "We've reached civilization at last!"

"Takeru!" Hikari was saying, for that was who the voice belonged to. "We made it to Hida after all?"

"Miraculously enough," he replied. "I don't know how on earth you managed, but you did." Even in the darkness, head covered by a cloak and hood, Hikari could see that he was grinning wide. He held out the lamp he carried. "Let's hurry and get inside."

The entrance hall of the ancient manor at Hida was a huge room, likely not easy to heat. At one end of the spacious area were two humongous doors which opened to the outside, and at the other end was a humongous fireplace. As Hikari entered, she saw that a huge fire was blazing, heating the entire room. An enormous chandelier hung over the room, and multiple lamps lined the outer walls. At the moment that she entered the room, she felt the warmth as compared to the outside world.

Daisuke was already sitting by the fire, wrapped in a thick blanket, water dripping from his hair. A small puddle of rainwater had formed near his feet as he dried. "You're soaked!" Hikari said. "You're absolutely drenched. How on earth did you - ?"

He shrugged, rubbing at his head with one hand. "Just kept going, I guess," he answered. "It was a little farther than we thought it would be."

"I am not the master mapmaker I claim to be," came the voice of Iori, at that moment arriving in the large entrance hall. He smiled apologetically. "Princess. Welcome to Hida."

"I have never been so pleased to be anywhere in my life, Iori," Hikari answered, getting to her feet. "If you'd be so kind as to provide us with a few warm beds, I'll ask for nothing more."

* * *

The next morning, Hikari was awakened by the sound of the wind crashing against the window. A cold breeze could be felt coming through the spaces where the ancient glass did not quite meet the ancient wood. A warm fire was already burning in the fireplace, and she was grateful for it after she peered through the window to see that the wind was whipping and tossing branches of trees on the grounds below. There was no snow, but the rain was making too much noise to not be mixed with ice, and the sky was nearly as dark as nighttime. She dressed as close to the fire as could be risked without burning her skirts, and then slipped out into the hall, pulling a sweater on to ward off the chill.

"It looks pretty bad," came Takeru's voice from down the hall, startling her in the otherwise silent hall. He was standing beside a tall window, watching the storm. "It's lucky you made it here."

She stepped closer to the window and looked out at the grounds. "Very lucky," she agreed. "As bad as last night was, I'd hate to be traveling in this mess today."

There was silence for a moment, and when she listened, Hikari found she could hear the sound of tiny pellets of ice hitting the window panes. The wind was blowing hard, too.

"Hikari - ," Takeru began, and turned his eyes from the window to her. "Why are you going north?"

She was quiet for a long moment, staring up at him. At one point, perhaps Takeru would not have bothered to ask that question, but simply understood that she had to do what had to be done. The weather being what it was, however, it was completely understandable that he would demand a further explanation. Finally, she sighed and leaned against the wall.

"Many reasons," she answered quietly, and then turned away from him to peer out the window again. "Mostly…to determine my fate."

"Your fate?" Takeru echoed sharply, "or Daisuke's?"

Hikari sighed again. "Would it be so bad," she replied thoughtfully, "if they were to be found in the same place?"

Takeru had no answer to this. Hikari did not turn to face him, but suspected that he was frowning, displeased with her answer. "Would it?" she asked again.

He exhaled, releasing breath she suspected he'd been holding for a few moments. "I don't know," he replied. "I can't see the future."

"I can't either," Hikari answered quietly. "I'm only going by what feels right. I'm trying to do what feels right."

"What if…," Takeru began.

"If I'm wrong? Then I'm wrong, Takeru. I can't live my life afraid of being wrong. I have to do what feels right or else I'll do nothing at all."

He sighed, letting his shoulders drop, releasing the tension from his posture. He leaned against the wall behind him and folded his arms across his chest. Hikari turned back to him, waiting. Finally, Takeru shrugged. "I suppose you're right," he conceded.

* * *

Daisuke spent the stormy morning with Iori, examining a multitude of maps that the younger one had collected over the past few years. Several of them were old, but the location of mountains and rivers had not changed, and the routes travelers took had stayed much the same for hundreds of years. The newer maps showed the locations of villages, castles, manors, and towns where inns might be found.

"The border can be crossed in a few different places. The nearest is here between the Northern Mountains," Iori explained, pointing toward a spot on the map. A dark, thick line meandered between two skinny triangle shapes. "The road, I'm told, is good, though narrow. It's terrible in the winter, but this early, shouldn't be too difficult."

"How far is that from here?" Daisuke wanted to know.

"Another day and a half, maybe more," he replied. "I suppose it depends on weather and such, but it looks to be about that long. There's two other trails that go between the mountains, but it'll take you longer to get to those." He pointed to two other spots on the map where the road traveled between triangular mountains.

"Once we get through the mountains, it looks pretty flat," Daisuke observed, eyes traveling northward on the map. "Is that all grassland again?"

Iori nodded. "So they tell me. I haven't yet gone past the mountains, but the Airdramon tamers tell me it's pretty easy going that far north. The only thing you have to watch out for is these," he pointed to a few skinny lines scratched randomly on the page. "They're canyons, and they come up pretty suddenly. If you stay to the road, I'm told you won't have a problem, but if you stray off it a bit and you're not paying attention you could find yourself on the bottom of a cliff."

"How about those Airdramon tamers?" V-mon questioned, climbing on to the top of the table so he might see the map. "Are they still battling among the tribes?"

"Off and on," Iori replied, waving a hand to indicate that this was not a major concern. "They don't fight much in the winter – harder to fly in the cold and winds. Most of them hunker down in their camps and villages – or come to Hida for safety."

"So we probably won't have to worry about them," Daisuke concluded.

"That's a relief," Hikari stated, entering the room at that moment. "I wasn't looking forward to fighting Airdramon. I do have a question for you about them though, Iori."

Iori nodded. "You want a guide or two to go with you? I'm sure they won't mind."

Hikari frowned momentarily, and glanced hesitantly toward Takeru, who had followed her into the room. "Actually, more than one or two, and more than a guide," she confessed. "I was thinking a half-dozen or so…."

"Six of them?" Takeru echoed before Iori could respond. "What for?"

"Safety?" Iori questioned in a much calmer tone. "I'm sure you won't have to worry much about bandits or outlaws on the journey. Once it snows, they don't prey on travelers much."

Hikari shook her head. "No, it's not that, so much. What I'm worried about I don't think will stop for the snow."

Iori glanced toward Takeru, who had a puzzled look as well. "What - ?" he began.

Takeru's gaze had wandered toward Daisuke, who had fallen silent, frowning. He appeared to be looking at nothing in particular, and his eyes had a faraway, thoughtful look to them, as though he was remembering something distant and unpleasant. The longer Takeru watched him, however, the more he was remembering another look he had seen in those eyes. Before Hikari could answer Iori, Takeru spoke one menacing name. "Xiao."

This only confused poor Iori even more, but Daisuke frowned deeper and his eyes began to look, only briefly, the way that Takeru had remembered – blank and devoid of thoughts. Almost immediately, the expression disappeared. Hikari sighed and nodded.

"Who is Xiao?" Iori questioned.

* * *

Well, a little bit of drama here, but still no action. Sorry.

Apologies in advance to any Takeru fans who might get the impression he acts sort of…well…not nice in this and the next chapter. It wasn't my intention to make him appear the bad guy, but when I re-read this, it seemed as though someone might get that impression.

Thanks for reading!


	5. Careful

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Five: **Careful…

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters, etc, is not mine, and I'm making no money. The plot, however, is. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

"So you were nearly killed, and now you want to go right in his direction?" Takeru questioned. "You do know this is insane, right?"

"It's not insane," Hikari retorted. "I'm not looking for him."

Takeru sighed, apparently attempting to calm himself. "If Xiao sent Igamon all the way south to find you, do you suppose he'll ignore you if you walk right past him?" he demanded, not having calmed down at all.

"What other choice is there?" she asked.

"I don't suppose you have any idea where it is he lives?" Tailmon questioned of Iori in a far more pragmatic tone. Iori shook his head.

"I'm afraid I'm not as familiar with the Northern Kingdom as I ought to be," he confessed. "I've never even heard of him. It might be worth it to ask some of the tamers, though."

"It isn't as though he's going to be expecting us," Hikari was saying at the same time, still trying to explain her point of view to Takeru. "Maybe he will do as the others do in the winter and lie low."

"Maybe," Takeru admitted, "and maybe he won't. Maybe he'll see it as perfect time to pluck naïve travelers from the road and sell them for profit!"

"It doesn't matter if we avoid him anyway," Tailmon replied. "If he's looking for us, he'll find us even if we're on the opposite side of the country." She shrugged, as if to say that fate was fate.

Hikari sat down with a sigh. "Why do you suppose I want the Airdramon to come with us?"

"You think a half-dozen Airdramon will - ?" Takeru began, and then stopped, another thought occurring to him. His eyes grew wide, and his mouth dropped open, as though he had suddenly come upon a revelation. "You didn't tell your brother, did you?"

The room fell silent for a few moments. Even Iori, who had been pretending to ignore the argument while it was going on, turned his head in her direction, awaiting the response. Daisuke raised his eyes briefly from the map he'd been studying (or at least pretending to study).

"You didn't, did you?" Takeru continued, his voice low, half with astonishment, half with horror. "You didn't tell him that the Igamon attacked, and you didn't remind him that they did two years ago. He doesn't have any reason to believe you're in any danger!"

"Because I'm not!" Hikari answered. She expected Takeru to interrupt her at this point and so was briefly taken aback when he simply stared at her. "_I'm_ not," she clarified in a much calmer tone.

Again, the room fell silent, and this time Daisuke became aware that several pairs of eyes had turned his way, or were trying hard not to turn his way. Almost immediately, he lowered his eyes back to the map, pretending as though he was greatly interested in the paths through the border mountains.

Takeru was trying to think of something to say to this when a knock sounded at the door and an elderly woman poked her head in. "I heard you wanted to see Li Tan?" she said.

Pleased that the tense silence had been broken, Iori nodded. "Yes, yes. Is he back yet?"

"Just got in," the woman replied. "Should I send him in?"

"Yes, please," he answered, and the woman disappeared. Into the awkward silence that remained in the room he said, "I'm sure that Li Tan will recommend to you the best men in his group."

* * *

The next morning, the storm completely over, they prepared to leave. Daisuke busied himself by (pretending to be) checking over the wheels and making certain that the cargo was loaded securely and the Monochromon were well attached. Not far away, Takeru and Hikari were continuing their discussion from the day before, this time in tense, hushed tones.

"I'm sure _that's _fine," Shijo said, climbing to the top of the carriage, where Daisuke was testing to make sure that a screw was securely connected.

"Can't be too careful," he answered with a casual shrug. He glanced toward the ground briefly, noting that Takeru was gesturing wildly with one arm.

"What are they arguing about?" Shijo wondered, following his gaze.

"Don't worry about it," Daisuke told him. "Worry about driving."

"We're not moving yet!" the boy retorted, but Daisuke had already climbed down to the ground and was checking to make sure the door shut properly.

"All right, fine," Takeru said then, loud enough so that everyone could hear him. In a slightly more normal tone (aware that everyone around had turned their heads toward him) he said, "Be careful, all right?"

"I have every intention of coming back alive," Hikari replied. "You've nothing to worry about." Turning toward Daisuke, who had no time to make secret of the fact he'd listened to this last part of the conversation, she said, "I'm ready. Let's go."

With that, she climbed aboard the carriage. The door swung shut behind her. Daisuke glanced briefly back toward Takeru, who was looking as though he was in a horrible mood, and then grasped the handle, preparing to follow.

"I have this bad feeling," Takeru said unexpectedly. Not having yet turned the handle to open the door, Daisuke turned back to him.

"A bad feeling?" he echoed when a few moments had passed and Takeru didn't elaborate. "What sort of - ?"

"A bad sort," Takeru replied shortly, and then shook his head, sighing. "I don't know. It's…I have this bad feeling that maybe you ought to be bringing more than seven Airdramon with you."

Daisuke glanced upward. The Airdramon were hovering, circling above, waiting for them to move. "Maybe," he agreed, and shrugged. "Still…."

"You think I'm over reacting?"

"No," he replied. "You can't be too careful. However, if you are too careful, you might miss something that you could only experience if you took a risk."

Takeru snorted a short laugh. "So _you_ say," he replied. "Be careful anyway, all right?"

Daisuke nodded, grinning. "I'm always careful," he answered.

* * *

"No, no," Mimi said, shaking her head. "That's not it. This one, this one." She pointed to a thicker bolt of fabric a short distance away. At first glance, it seemed to be the same exact fabric as the sample Miyako held in her arms.

"What's the difference?" she demanded.

"Feel it!" the elder replied. "It's better. That," she pointed toward what Miyako held, "is thicker, but not quite as warm. It's not woven to quite the same consistency. This," she gestured toward the other, which she was now pulling from the shelf, "is much better quality. It's also waterproof. That you can tell only by feeling it."

Miyako shrugged. "If you say so," she replied. "I wouldn't mind having something warm and waterproof."

"They say that this winter may be worse than ever before," Mimi said, gathering the fabric in her arms and turning away from the shelves covered with it. "Even if it isn't though, it's better to be safe than sorry. You can't be too careful."

Having no argument to this, Miyako hefted another bolt of the same fabric and followed her. They were in the marketplace of the village outside the castle, shopping for fabrics for winter clothing. Though she already had plenty of winter dresses, Miyako had to admit that she wouldn't mind another, and the cloak she'd worn the last three winters was beginning to be rather threadbare and not quite as warm had been when new. Thus, she had tagged along with Mimi to buy some fabrics.

As they waited in the line to pay for the five bolts of fabric they'd settled on, Miyako had the odd sense that she was being watched. Nervously, she glanced around her, but the marketplace was crowded and filled with people, and it was difficult to tell if she was imagining the sensation.

Mimi was haggling with the vendor, which was really more of a tradition than a necessity, but even this argument, only a step away from Miyako, was barely audible over the sound of the crowd. A nearby fish vendor was shouting loudly, advertising the low price on his latest catch. Not far from that, a man was loudly arguing over the price of a piece of pottery, and a few steps from that, a child was loudly crying because his mother couldn't afford a bit of candy.

The weather was cool but not cold, typical of early fall. Every so often, a chilly breeze would come down from the north and cause people to shiver and wrap sweaters or shawls around themselves a bit tighter. The sky was clear, with only a few white, puffy clouds scattered over the vast blue expanse. A shadow passed overhead – a Piyomon, soaring above the marketplace, no doubt partnered with one of the shoppers nearby. Miyako couldn't clearly see Hawkmon, but she knew he was likely nearby, and wondered if it were his eyes she was feeling. This didn't seem likely because of the shivers that went down her spine, however.

"That is not worth twelve coins," Mimi said at that moment, distracting Miyako from any other concerns. "Look, there's a spot here." She pointed to a miniscule dot of dirt on the bolt of fabric. "I won't pay more than ten."

"This is high quality fabric!" the merchant retorted. He was a large, heavyset man, sweating even in the cool fall weather, and he waved his arms as he spoke. "I won't take less than fifteen!"

The truth, Miyako knew, was that Mimi hadn't planned on spending less than twenty on that particular fabric, so even fifteen would great deal. As she wasn't concerned with money, she would also likely not haggle as forcefully as many of the townspeople would, though she would pretend to. Out of the corner of her eye, Miyako caught sight of a beautiful pink fabric hanging at another stall, and wandered away to examine it, pushing the odd sensation from her mind and recent memory as best she could.

"You like this?" the vendor questioned after Miyako had spent a few moments studying and feeling the pink fabric. There was a shiny quality to it that she was not familiar with, and it felt very light and smooth. "It's come very far, from the very far north."

The vendor was dressed in a similarly shiny fabric, only in a dark blue instead of pink. His shirt was buttoned to his chin, and a pale purple necktie spilled over the collar. His pants were of a slightly darker shade of blue, made from the same shiny fabric. When he spoke, his words were hesitant and his pronunciation of the words was not quite perfect.

"This comes from the Northern Kingdom?" she questioned, astonished. "I thought all the fabrics from that far north were heavy and warm – good for hard winters."

The vendor smiled, his dark blue eyes glinted in the bright sunlight. "This is why we wear layers," he replied. "The cold must not prevent us from enjoying the fine things of life."

Had Hikari not already left for the north, Miyako would have bought the pink fabric right then and there for her and had it fashioned into dress in the style of the Northern Kingdom. Since she had left, Miyako decided that she would buy the fabric anyway. Undoubtedly the light, smooth fabric would make a beautiful spring or summer dress. Nearby, she saw a pale blue fabric in the same style and resolved to buy some for herself as well.

"It's silly to buy summer fabrics in the winter," Mimi scolded her a few moments later when they were reunited. "You need winter clothing now, and if the winter is as bad as they say, it wouldn't be a bad idea to start now."

"They?" Miyako echoed. "They who?"

Mimi was quiet a moment. "The elders," she finally answered. "In the village near my home, there are at least a dozen old women that say they can feel if a winter will be bad. They say they can feel it in their old, ancient bones. You might think they're crazy, but they're usually right about how bad it will be."

Miyako shook her head. "I don't think it's crazy," she answered. "I've seen magic do stranger things."

"It's not magic, though," Mimi replied. "They're not weather mages or sages. They don't predict the future. They simply…_feel_ the weather. They say that it's a sort of knowledge that you can only obtain after you've lived long enough."

Miyako was about to reply to this when a sudden chill made a shiver run down her spine. She felt the strange sensation once more – as though someone was watching her, and now she turned her head quickly, trying to determine which direction it came from. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a dark shadow dart behind a stall selling fresh bread. It wasn't simply a dark shadow, however, because she could _see_ magic mixed within it.

"Dark magic?" she said then, scarcely aware that she'd spoken aloud. She turned to Mimi, handing her the bolts of fabric she'd bought. "I'll be right back."

"Are you sure you should go alone?" Mimi questioned, but Miyako barely heard this, for she was gone.

"Hawkmon!" she called, and was immediately aware of his presence nearby, flying overhead. "Did you see anything strange?"

"I saw a dark shape lurking on the outside of the marketplace," her partner replied. "I couldn't quite tell what it was. Small enough that I guessed it to be a child or a small digimon. You think it was bad?"

"I know it was," Miyako answered immediately. "I sensed dark magic."

By this point she had reached the edge of the bread stall and could see only what was expected to be seen at the back of a stall. There was no sign of the dark shape, and no sign of dark magic in the air. "Looks as though we've missed him," Hawkmon observed. "Now what?"

"Keep watch a moment," she replied, shutting her eyes and concentrating her magical senses, spreading them out over the marketplace, seeking out any bit of dark magic that might have been caused by the dark shape. By now she was certain that whatever that thing was it was what had been watching her – the source of the strange sensation she had felt in the market. It wasn't only the sensation of being watched, but mixed in with dark magic, thus creating an ominous sense of foreboding. Whatever this thing was, it either didn't know she could sense it or it had wanted to be seen. Either way, Miyako wasn't looking forward to meeting it.

After a moment, she opened her eyes and pulled her glasses from her nose, stuffing them in the pocket of her skirts. "And now?" Hawkmon asked.

"This way," she answered, and started off.

* * *

All day long the Border Mountains that formed the traveled between Yagami and the Northern Kingdom grew closer. Late afternoon, an hour or two before sunset, Shijo halted the carriage at a fork in the road and wondered which way to go. After a moment the door beneath him opened and Daisuke emerged, carrying with him one of the maps he'd brought from Hida. He unrolled it, holding out in front of him, and spent a few moments studying it.

"We're not going to make it through the mountains before nightfall," Hikari said, emerging from the carriage. "I'd rather not spend the night in the midst of the pass, either. We'll stop here for the night." She turned up toward Shijo. "Turn off the road a bit, first."

He nodded, immediately signaling the Monochromon to start moving, steering them off to the left, following Hikari as she headed in to the grassland. Daisuke watched, frowning, feeling as though something was strange but was not certain what.

"If we keep going," he said, glancing toward the map he carried, "we'll reach Yamashita village in about an hour. Are you sure you don't want to find an inn?"

"No," she answered, shaking her head. "I'd rather stay out in the middle of nowhere."

The truth was that Daisuke had not been looking forward to another night of cold, sleeping on the ground, but another nice warm bed and fire. Hikari didn't seem to be in the best of moods today, though, and so he decided not to argue the point. Since they'd left Hida in the early morning, she'd been quiet – and not a contemplative sort of quiet but a controlled angry sort of quiet. He suspected that her conversation that morning with Takeru had not gone well, and that Takeru had wanted to come along, or at least send more Airdramon. What wasn't clear, however, was why Hikari would refuse either of those suggestions.

The Airdramon above had noticed the carriage move off the road, and now the leader of the small band guided his ride to land in the grass nearby. Daisuke watched as the long serpentine digimon came down a short distance away and the tamer dismounted.

"Camping already?" he called, removing his helmet, Lopmon partner peering over his head from his perch on his partner's shoulders. "It's still early."

As Hikari had already walked on and didn't seem to be interested in turning back, Daisuke took it upon himself to answer. "Yeah," he said, shrugging. "We'll never make it through the mountains before dark, and here's as good as anywhere."

"Yamashita village," the tamer began, and he nodded.

"Yeah, I know. We're going to camp, though. We've got plenty of supplies."

The tamer shrugged. "All right, then. We'll set up in a circle around you and keep watch. You don't have to worry about us. We'll see to it that nothing gets past."

Daisuke nodded. "All right. Thanks."

"No problem," the tamer replied, waving one hand over his head as he climbed back on to his Airdramon, signaling his comrades that it was time to camp. From the ground, Daisuke watched as the flying serpents circled the carriage and came to rest on the ground. There were seven of them, and it wasn't long before they were surrounded by a wide circle of Airdramon guards.

"I still kind of think this is a bit insane," V-mon commented, watching as the Airdramon prepared to sleep. "Airdramon as allies." He shivered, thinking, undoubtedly, of a time that Airdramon had been a feared sight, back in the Eastern woods.

Shijo was tending to the Monochromon, unhooking them from the carriage and seeing that they could rest for the evening. It wasn't likely that they'd wander away while the Airdramon were nearby, so he left them to their own devices and began to unload some of the firewood they had carried strapped to the back of the cart. There were few trees on the northern grasslands, only grass and sky as far as the eye could see.

Hikari was unloading some supplies, rummaging through the crates of dried meat to see what was available. After selecting a few edible slices, she placed them in a tin pan, ready to be cooked, and set about seeing what else there was. There was plenty of rice, and some tea, which would be nice when the sun went down and it became cold.

As Shijo (with Agumon helping) didn't seem to have any trouble starting a fire, Daisuke climbed to the top of the carriage, unloaded the tents, and began setting them up. Before long the smell of cooking meat made his stomach grumble, but he pushed the thought from his mind and focused on trying to jam the center pole of the tent into the ground. It wasn't an easy task, for the ground, although not yet frozen, was far from soft. Eventually, however, he succeeded, though the muscles in his arms had begun to ache from the effort.

By the time they'd finished eating, the sun had sank and the night was upon them. The evening was quiet, with only the sounds of insects chirping and Airdramon snoring. Shijo, who'd begun yawning even before the meal was over, crawled inside the nearest tent and fell promptly to sleep without another thought. V-mon, having stuffed his body full with rice and meat, lay on his back on the ground near the fire and was soon snoring. Tailmon, who was always ready for a nap, curled up not far from her partner.

The fire crackled quietly. Hikari poured herself another cup of tea and drank it slowly. The night air gradually began to grow colder. The stars came out and sparkled in the sky above.

"You didn't want Takeru to come?" Daisuke asked the silence, unable to contain his curiosity any longer. Hikari shook her head and sipped her tea. "Why not?"

"I," she began and then stopped, as though uncertain of which words to use. She shook her head again. "It's complicated."

He took a gulp of the hot tea and felt it almost burn his throat with the heat as it went down. "Mm," he said, meaning that he was willing to listen to a more detailed explanation. "I see," he said when one didn't come.

"I'd rather not drag more people into this," Hikari said. She was staring into her mug of tea, even though there wasn't much to see in the darkness. Finally, she sighed. "I don't know. I just didn't."

"Did you…have an argument?" he wondered, speaking the words quietly so that she could ignore them if she found them intrusive.

Again, Hikari sighed, shaking her head. "Not really," she answered, and then looked up from the tea. "Do you think I should have told Taichi about the Igamon?"

He shrugged. "I think if you had, he wouldn't have let you come without a lot more people," he replied.

"Yes," she agreed, pushing this aside, "but should I have told him anyway?"

Daisuke was quiet for a long moment, mulling this over. He drank the tea thoughtfully, considering his response. "I don't know," he said. "I wouldn't, but I don't know if that means you should do what I would do." He grinned self depreciatingly but then sobered. "You're right. _You _weren't in danger. Not that time. That doesn't mean, though, that next time won't be different."

Hikari frowned. "Now _that_ sounds like something my brother would say," she told him. "I would think you would say something more like, 'You have to take risks.'"

"I would," he agreed. "How much, though, do you really want to follow _my _advice?"

There was silence for a moment. Hikari sipped her tea thoughtfully. "Sometimes your advice is good advice," she said.

He shrugged again, grinning this time.


	6. Takeru's Letter

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Six**: Takeru's Letter

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_ is not mine. Plot is. Don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

The marketplace was full of people. Dozens, perhaps even near to a hundred stalls, tents, and carts were scattered around the empty space, each one filled to bursting with fabrics, foods, weapons, pottery, jewelry, and many other objects. Between the vendors, who busied themselves trying to get customers and tending to the ones they had, were the people who were shopping – throngs of men, women, children, and digimon of all shapes and sizes wandering through the space, searching for what they hoped to buy. Trying to find someone in the mess would have been nearly impossible without the aid of magic – and magical sight.

Thankfully, Miyako had both to help her, and though she was not certain who or what she was looking for, it would not be difficult to find someone or something that had used dark magic. In the kingdom of Yagami, there were very few dark mages, and those that did exist stayed far from the palace. Any that might now dwell with in Yagami borders were unknown to the wizards and mages of the palace, for they stayed hidden from the politics and society of the day. Thus, the marketplace likely contained one source of dark magic, and that source was what Miyako had sensed.

Squinting through the throngs of people, Miyako focused her magical sight, filtering out anything that was not magical, making that which was all the more prominent. Most of the shoppers possessed little or no magic, and so they did not interfere with the trail of dark magic she was attempting to follow. There were a few wizards mulling about, mostly around the vendors who were selling magical items, but they all possessed an ordinary sort of magic, and they all seemed not to have noticed the dark magic in their midst. This was unsurprising, since most of them had never encountered dark magic and thus would not know a dark mage if one smacked them in the face.

Miyako, however, was quite familiar with such magic, though it had been some time since she had been in its presence. It was therefore quite easy to see the thread of dark magic, and to follow it, squeezing through the crowds, trying to keep up with the trail yet not alarm any of the shoppers. She was quite relieved when the trail exited the marketplace, but was a bit concerned to see that it went down a narrow, dark alleyway.

The sun was beginning to set, making the dim passageway even dimmer than it would have been a few hours previously. Concentrating, she focused her magical energy at a spot a short distance beyond her face and then held out her hand. Before long, a small spark produced a magical flame that lit up the space.

"There!" Hawkmon cried, pointing with one wing, and she saw the tail end of a small, dark shape disappear around a corner ahead. "That's what I saw before."

Miyako wasted no time, but hurried after the creature. "Do you know what it is?" she asked. "I couldn't see well enough to tell."

"I couldn't either. It's small enough to be a human child, but I doubt that's what it is."

They rounded the corner, emerging into an even darker and narrower alleyway which ended up ahead in a small, empty courtyard. Hesitating, for here she felt even more dark magic, Miyako headed, slowly, toward the small courtyard. Almost immediately, she heard a quiet thud behind her, and then, when she turned, heard a thud in the opposite direction as well.

"What the - ?" she questioned, and then she saw something small, glinting in the firelight. It flew past her at a very high rate of speed, barely a hand's length from her cheek.

"Igamon!" Hawkmon shouted. "Look out!"

It had been some time since Miyako had last had the need to raise a magical shield to protect herself, but she had become proficient at the task and thus raised one quickly even with the long gap in practice of the skill. The next objects bounced off the shield, leaving her unharmed, but she saw, squinting into the darkness, that there were undoubtedly more than two of the ninja-like digimon now in the alley. The amount of dark magic around her had increased, and she began to think that maybe leaving Mimi behind wasn't the best of ideas. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have the assistance of the giant cactus Togemon at this time.

Even without Mimi's help, though, Miyako was far from helpless. She curled her fingers into a ball, extinguishing the flame she carried in her hands, momentarily plunging the alley into darkness. After a split second, however, a few more flames of the same size appeared at random spaces throughout the alley, causing the Igamon to leap back. One of them was injured by the fire, though it did not delete. Almost immediately, the flames disappeared, and then reformed a few seconds later in different locations. This pattern continued for a few moments, causing the Igamon to break off their attack. They disappeared, leaping up to the higher reaches of the surrounding buildings, and then they resumed hurling their throwing stars.

"Stupid things," Miyako muttered. "I suppose I could just blow them all away."

"Don't exhaust yourself," Hawkmon cautioned, looking up at his partner with a worried expression. Though she was a well-skilled mage, Miyako did not often use magic to this extent in a single day, and the wind spell she was thinking of required a great deal of exertion.

"I won't," she replied, already shutting her eyes and adopting an expression of concentration. "I'll use plenty of self control. Just enough to scatter them away from me."

Almost immediately, the wind began to blow, gently at first, and then with a greater intensity that caused her hair to blow in her face and her skirts to dance wildly in the breeze. Leaves scattered on the ground began to float into the air, and in the marketplace, a few people shivered and pulled their sweaters tightly shut.

"Where's this wind coming from all of the sudden?" Palmon questioned, shielding her eyes from a bit of dust that had kicked up. Mimi, attempting to load the fabrics she'd purchased into the back of a wagon for transport to the palace (it was easier than carrying them), was having some difficulty with the task because her long hair was blowing in her eyes.

"Goodness knows," she muttered, pushing her hair out of her face, wishing she had thought to wear a hat. "It seems to only grow stronger." Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, and she looked in the direction Miyako had run a few minutes before. "You don't suppose - ?"

"Let's go see," the plant digimon replied immediately.

In the alleyway, the wind was even stronger, and, because the Igamon surrounded the mage, was blowing in every direction at the same time. Small pebbles were lifting into the air and scattering in the breeze, and Hawkmon wisely moved as close to his partner, the eye of the storm. The Igamon were not so lucky, however, and a few of them were also lifted into the air. Miyako had once used the aid of the wind spell to lift a boulder; Igamon were not half so heavy.

A few of them disappeared in mid-air – not deleting, but departing in small puffs of dark magic. Still, Miyako could not maintain the spell for all eternity, and when she let it die down, a half-dozen or so of them remained, landing safely on the roofs of the surrounding buildings. They said nothing, but watched and waited, and then the sharp metal throwing stars whizzed through the air again.

Despite her claims, the wind spell had exhausted her more than she had expected, and so Miyako had no time to raise a second shield. Two of the sharp objects narrowly missed her head once more, but three more snagged in the fabric of her skirt, and one slit through her sleeve and nicked her arm slightly below the elbow.

The six Igamon remaining leapt down from the rooftops and landed on the ground below. They made no move, but watched and waited. Miyako lifted her right arm, planning to cast the flame spell once more, but suddenly felt a strange sort of tiredness she had never experienced before. Her eyes felt heavy and her head felt light. She felt as though she would fall to sleep in but a few moments. Her legs did not seem to have the energy to support her any longer, and so she dropped to her knees and forced her arms to hold up her head. The Igamon took a few steps closer. She blinked, trying to force her eyes back open.

"Miyako? Miyako?" Hawkmon was calling, but his voice was swimming around, distant echo of sound.

"What is this? Some sort of spell I didn't sense?" she wondered.

"Prickly Bang Bang!" came a loud voice, then three of the Igamon deleted immediately in tiny, miniature explosions that scattered their data to the winds. "Who wants some?" cried Togemon, preparing for a fight.

Before any of the Igamon could formulate an answer, a single arrow sank into the body of another of one of the Igamon, deleting it immediately, and then Togemon attacked again, deleting the final two Igamon. What happened after that, however, Miyako did not know, for her eyes closed and she gave into the overwhelming desire for sleep.

* * *

It was dark by the time she awoke, her head spinning, the world still blurry. Miyako opened her eyes and became aware of two things immediately. One was that the room she was in was lit only by firelight and a candle or two. The second was that the room she was in was not her own room at the palace, for the ceiling did not look the same and the bed did not feel quite as soft.

"So the Igamon possessed dark magic?" Sora's voice was saying from somewhere nearby. The bed was surrounded by a thin white curtain, and it seemed as though she was directly outside this barrier. "I didn't know that was possible…."

"Maybe they didn't," Mimi disagreed. "Maybe they were working for a dark mage who used dark magic. I don't know. All I know is that she sensed something dark in the marketplace, and then those Igamon attacked. They have to be connected somehow, right?"

"That would be my guess as well," the other agreed with a sigh. "Well, for now, let's let her rest. You're sure she'll be all right, Jyou?"

"Hmm," the doctor answered affirmatively. "It was only a sleeping potion. Whoever the Igamon were, they weren't interested in killing her."

"Thank goodness for that, anyway," Sora said. A short while later, Miyako could hear the sounds of footsteps leaving, and the door shutting.

"Igamon, huh?" Miyako said into the darkness. "What would they want with me - ?"

"That's what I'd like to know, too," said a voice, and she only then became aware of a small wooden chair beside the bed, and that Ken was sitting in it, a thoughtful expression on his face as he considered this.

"Most likely they weren't after _you_," Hawkmon interrupted from his spot at the foot of the bed, where he'd been comfortably napping between the blankets. "They didn't attack until after we'd sought them out, remember? They were only mulling around the marketplace."

"So you're saying they were interested in someone who was in the marketplace?" Miyako concluded. "Well, that narrows it down not at all…there had to be two hundred people there today!"

"Maybe they weren't after anyone in particular," Wormmon suggested. He was perched on his partner's shoulder and had been watching the conversation with his big, blue eyes.

"What do you mean?" Hawkmon asked.

"I'm thinking about the last time we saw any Igamon," the caterpillar replied. "Do you remember?"

Ken nodded immediately, but Miyako took a second longer. "Igamon? I don't know that I've ever seen any Igamon in person…except…You don't suppose these were related?"

"Related?" Hawkmon interrupted before Ken or Wormmon could answer. "Related to what?"

"It _was_ two years ago," Wormmon said quietly. "Maybe enough time for everyone to forget about it?"

"Don't you remember?" Miyako said to her partner. "When we were searching for the crystals, in the village at Motomiya, there was a man who had Igamon working for him. That's the only time I've ever seen them before."

"Wait," the bird digimon said then, the memory returning to him. "You mean that slave trader? So you think the Igamon came here looking for slaves for him?"

"It's not impossible," Ken replied, having already come to the same conclusion a few minutes earlier.

* * *

Shortly before sunset, having spent the past few hours on a narrow, winding path between two tall mountains, the carriage emerged none the worse for wear at the border of the Northern Kingdom. Though Shijo had felt rather nervous about the tall, towering cliff faces above him on either side, there had been no dramatic incidents, and no rocks had fallen from above.

Ahead now, a tall gate marked the border between the kingdoms. It was made from a mix of stone and sturdy wood, barred by a long, heavy board which blocked the entrance to anyone who might attempt unauthorized entry. There were no guards to be seen in front of the gate, but a few patrolled the upper levels of the gate, peering over the top.

Eyes wide, for the gate was nearly as tall as the mountains around it, Shijo directed the Monochromon to head slowly up to the doors. He brought them to a halt and waited, expecting that the guards would take notice of him.

"Who goes there?" called a deep voice from the top of the gate. "What is your purpose in coming this way?"

Shijo stared blankly up at the gate, looking for the source of the voice. After a moment, a smaller, human-sized door opened inside the gate, and two men emerged, dressed in armor and dark red uniforms. They had fierce, dark eyes and hair, and they stared up at him, awaiting a response.

"I carry the Princess of Yagami," he replied. "We're on a journey to the north."

"The - ?" One of the men echoed, but before he could go on, the door to the carriage opened, and Hikari herself stepped out, having obviously overheard the conversation. Although she was covered with the dust of the road, dressed in simple traveling clothes, with her hair tangled and wispy around her face, something (perhaps the magic, Shijo thought, that his brother was always going on about) made her still appear to be quite regal in some way.

She paused, breathing in the cool night air. The scent of snow from the mountains filtered in with the wind from the mountains even further north.

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am, but…," the guard began.

"Of course, you need all the papers," Hikari said, nodding, and turned back toward the carriage. Already, however, Daisuke had followed her out, and thought to bring the paperwork with him. He held it out to the guards now, and one of them took the pile, flipping through it with a frown. After a moment, he nodded and raised one hand in salute.

"Feel free to call upon the assistance of the armed services should you need any security," he reported. "There are many inns in town if you wish to spend the night, or we could provide housing."

"I think an inn will be fine, thank you," Hikari replied. "I'll try not to cause you any trouble."

* * *

"Do you – do you suppose they've done this before?" Miyako questioned then, the thought suddenly occurring to her. "When we saw him that time, he said that he had no need to take slaves from Yagami villages, but…what if he was lying? How many do you suppose have been taken north?"

The room fell silent as the others considered this grim possibility. Ken got to his feet, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "If they used dark magic, it's possible that it would go undetected, even if they went to a village full of mages. I'm guessing, though, that they generally go to more distant, less populated villages."

Hawkmon snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised if they took people who aren't going to be noticed missing – orphans, older people without homes, drifters."

"Probably mostly children," Ken said, nodding in agreement.

Again, the room fell silent. Miyako sighed and fell back on to the pillow behind her and stared up at the ceiling. "I have a bad feeling about the whole thing," she admitted. "I'd like to see if I can't figure out the origin of that magic. I doubt that it was really the Igamon that performed it…."

She was interrupted at this moment by a light tapping on the window nearby. Though the lighting both inside and out of the small room was dim, it was still possible to make out the shape of a small Piyomon outside the window, knocking at the window with one wing. Ken lifted the latch and pushed the window pane open, allowing the bird digimon entrance.

"Sorry I'm so late," the Piyomon said to their confused expressions, "but there was a bit of a strong wind coming out of the south today, making it rather hard to fly in that direction. Otherwise, I would have been here this afternoon."

Ken glanced toward Miyako, who said, "Where do you come from?"

"Oh, right, right," the bird replied. He hopped down from the windowsill and fluttered to the small chair beside the bed that Ken had recently vacated. He held out the piece of rolled parchment he'd been carrying. "Hida. Not quite an urgent message, but still, he asked me to hurry and I'm afraid I had no choice but to take my time."

"He who?" Hawkmon asked. All eyes in the room turned toward Miyako as she unrolled the paper and read the words written on the page.

"Takeru," she replied. "Why would he write to me?"

* * *

Beyond the gate, the streets were narrow, with shops and houses and a large amount of inns lining the pathways. Though the sun had ducked beneath the mountains, lamps were being lit throughout the town, making it possible to see clearly, thus ensuring that quite a few people were still out and about. There were a few taverns, distinguishable by the signs hung above their doors with etched pictures of mugs and bottles.

Inside the carriage, Daisuke yawned, more from boredom than from exhaustion, and turned his attention out the windows. Small crowds of people passed by them, talking loudly and cheerfully amongst themselves. The people in the Northern Kingdom spoke nearly the same language as those in Yagami, although the farther north one went the more difficult it would become to understand one another. This far south, the accent was almost undetectable.

They halted in front of a small, mostly-respectable looking inn, and unloaded a small amount of the luggage. "If you go down the street," Hikari said, "You might find a stable where you can put the Monochromon and the carriage." She rummaged in her pocket and produced a handful of coins. "When you're finished with that, come back here."

"No problem," Shijo replied cheerfully, climbing back on to the top of the carriage. Within a few moments, he was gone, the wooden wheels clattering on the stone roads. Hikari turned back to Daisuke, lifting one of the bags nearest to her, and saw that he was staring absently at a space of empty grass a short distance away. To her eyes, it seemed to be a simple courtyard.

"Daisuke?" she questioned, gently placing a hand on his shoulder when he did not immediately respond. "What is it?"

He blinked a few times and turned back to her, his eyes clearing as though he was coming awake after a strange dream. "I've been here before."


	7. the Shopkeeper and the Visitor

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Seven: **The Shopkeeper and The Visitor

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters and monies, is not mine. Plot, however, is. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo. Enjoy!

Moo.

* * *

It was cold and dark when they emerged from the fire in which they had traveled, and he became almost immediately aware of a light rain that was blanketing the ground.

The place did not look familiar in the slightest. As he followed his master down the narrow streets, he dared to look at the sides of the roads. There were taverns and inns and many shops and houses, each one jutted up next to the other so that not even a small alleyway existed between the buildings. It was very late, so that none of the windows showed light from within. Distantly, thunder rumbled.

"This way," muttered the man he was following. It wasn't necessary for orders to be spoken aloud, and they rarely were, so he wondered if his master was speaking to himself.

They walked for some time, the rain growing heavier and the air growing colder, until pausing at the door of a shop. It was too dark to read what was inscribed upon the sign, but the master seemed to know that he was in the correct spot. He raised one hand and pounded firmly on the door.

The hour was quite late, but the door opened after a few moments and the shopkeeper appeared in the doorway. He appeared tired, but not as though he had been pulled from sleep. He was a skinny little man with wide beady eyes and thinning hair, dressed entirely in the color black so that his eyes stood out even more on his pale face. At first, his expression suggested anger at being disturbed at such an hour, but after taking a clearer look at the man before him, he held his tongue.

"Milord," he muttered in a voice that suggested mild surprise more than reverence. "I had heard that you were dead."

"Apparently you need to find a better news source," the taller man replied, and pushed past the shopkeeper into the building. "I am not killed so easily as you might think."

"No, sir," muttered the shopkeeper. He didn't seem pleased about the visitor, but he made no move to stop him, simply stepping aside. He had not noticed the one who trailed after the man until he was halfway through the door, and then he stared at him with wide eyes. "You bring me merchandise?" he questioned in a greedy voice. A wide, strange grin spread across his thin face.

There was silence for a moment, and then the visitor answered, "If you can find me a decent price for him."

"He doesn't seem like much, does he?" the shopkeeper questioned, slowly circling the boy like a vulture. "He seems like a day's work might kill him. Have you fed him at all?"

"When there was something available," the visitor replied in a voice that suggested he was not much concerned about him. "It's not the boy that concerns me, it's the spell around him. It's a powerful spell and I think that it's worth a lot of money."

"A powerful spell, you say?" the shopkeeper echoed, raising his eyebrows, and turned away from examining his potential new merchandise.

The interior of the store was only mildly brighter than the outside. A small fire was lit in a fireplace along one wall amidst a complex shelving system that held boxes and papers and a staggering amount of strange gadgets and gizmos. A single Gazimon, eyes narrowed in a suspicious expression, was curled in a ball on one of the shelves, apparently displeased about being awakened so late. The rest of the room was cloaked in shadow, invisible to the eye that peered around.

The visitor had moved to stand near the fire, allowing the rainwater to drip from his long, dark cloak and hood and drip down to the ground, where a small puddle of rainwater began to form. He did not remove either of these garments, however. Outside, a clap of thunder in the distance heralded the incoming storm.

The shopkeeper began rummaging through his shelves, seeking some unknown object. There was a clattering sound as he opened boxes and then shut them and dug through boxes of metallic implements. After a while, he removed what he'd been looking for and turned away from the shelf.

A first glance would suggest that the object he'd removed and was now putting on to his face was a pair of spectacles, but it would soon become obvious that they were not. There were two lenses that fit over his eyes, connected within a metallic frame that made them rest on the top of his nose. The frame was thicker, however, and they were held on to his head with a leather strap rather than metal bars behind the ears. The lenses were thicker, too, and when he peered through them, the shopkeeper's already beady eyes looked huge and bug-like.

"Oh-ho!" the shopkeeper said, having turned his enlarged eyes on to the merchandise now before him. He let out a low whistle. "That _is_ something else."

"I believe," said the visitor in a deep, solemn voice, "that it is the strongest spell ever made for these purposes."

"The strongest I've ever seen," the shopkeeper agreed. "It looks to be like a web of magic, surrounding every part. If you could replicate this spell, you could make a fortune!"

"I have no interest in replicating it," the visitor answered coldly. "I only wish to dispose of this one. Can you find me a buyer willing to spend money?"

Forcing the contraption from his head, the shopkeeper sighed. "I could try," he answered. "I could bring him to the auction – see what anyone would offer. Truth is, though, sir, most of who I sell to want workers, not spells. They're not wizards, just folk with enough magic to hold on to a slave. As I said, this one is so scrawny it looks like a day's work would kill him. Come high summer, I could take him to the big auction near the capital…."

"I don't have that much time," the visitor interrupted. "How long until this auction you spoke of?"

"Two days."

A louder clap of thunder sounded, and for a moment, a flash of lightning briefly lit up the store. "Damn," muttered the visitor. "Fine. Hold on to him until then. See how much anyone would offer for him. I'll return in three days." He turned toward the one in question, standing quietly in the middle of the room, eyes watching the discussion. "Answer to him. I'll return before long."

There was then a flash of bright fire, and the visitor was gone.

* * *

It didn't take long to read the small, hastily scrawled bit of paper that Takeru had sent. When she'd finished, Miyako read it over once more, to make certain that she understood what he'd written, and then she shook her head and handed it to Ken.

He, too, read it quickly, and then sighed. "You'd think they might have told _someone_. If the Igamon attacked that far south - ?"

"There's no reason to believe they won't attack again," she concluded, sighing. "No wonder she didn't tell Taichi. Will seven Airdramon be of any help?"

Ken shrugged. "Some help, I suppose. Don't know if they'll be able to stop them."

The room was silent for a moment before Hawkmon questioned, "Should we tell the king now?"

"No," Miyako answered instantly. "If Hikari didn't want to tell him, then I definitely don't want to, either. I think we should tell him about the Igamon soon – if Mimi hasn't already told him that is. I want to go after them and find out if they have taken anyone from Yagami."

"You want to go north, then?" Hawkmon concluded.

"If that's where the trail leads," she replied.

"I don't suppose," he continued, "that you plan on telling your mother about this plan. She wasn't even happy about you coming _this_ far north. I'm sure she wouldn't be pleased about traveling further."

Miyako frowned, remembering the fuss her mother had made before. "Well..."

* * *

The inn was surprisingly busy, due to the amount of people who were heading southward in anticipation of the winter. It was luckily still possible to obtain two rooms beside each other.

The rooms were small, with only a tiny, barely sturdy bed in each one, a small fireplace, a miniscule window covered by a moth-eaten curtain, and a barely-standing chair. Daisuke stood in the doorway and reflected that it was probably not the worst place he'd ever stayed in, and set the bags he'd carried up on the floor at his feet.

Hikari peered around the doorway behind him and shivered. "Well…," she said, "it might be better than staying outside…."

"Maybe," Tailmon said, peering around her partner's feet, "but not by much."

"It could be a lot worse," V-mon put in diplomatically, but Tailmon didn't seem convinced.

"He's right," Hikari agreed optimistically. "We have a roof and walls to keep out the cold and the wind. It'll likely be warmer to sleep here than outside again." She pushed open the connecting door and found the second room, exactly the same size as the first.

Daisuke sat down on the bed, which creaked loudly under his weight, and yawned. He leaned backward slowly, and though the bed creaked a bit more, it did not collapse, and he looked up at the ceiling, feeling suddenly tired enough to sleep.

"Are we going to eat?" V-mon questioned, interrupting his partner before he could fall backwards on to the bed and sleep. He hadn't bothered to remove his cloak, and it spread out beneath him.

"Maybe sleep first," he mumbled absently, more to annoy V-mon than because of actual exhaustion. His partner kicked him not-to-gently in the leg, forcing him back awake. "Ouch," he mumbled, rubbing the spot.

"The innkeeper said that he would bring food up," Hikari said from the doorway. She had set down her bag and removed her cloak, and was now brushing the dust and dirt of traveling from the front of her skirts. "The dining room was pretty full – I thought it'd be better to eat up here."

"As long as it's soon I don't mind," V-mon said cheerfully and climbed over his partner for a view of the town below him. "I'm starved. Hey! I can see one of the Airdramon from here."

Daisuke sat up and peered out the window from behind him. "I guess they're not too uncommon up here, so it's not a problem having them on the rooftops," he observed. The Airdramon in question was indeed curled around the chimney of a stable across the road, and it was not unlikely that another was resting on the roof above them.

He yawned again, stretching his arms over his head, and pulled the cloak from around his shoulders. The room was cool; the fire had not been burning long; but it was warmer than the outside air.

Tailmon climbed on to the bed and curled into a snug ball near the window, napping while she waited for the food to arrive. V-mon amused himself by watching the carts, wagons, and pedestrians travel by on the road below.

Hikari watched in silence as Daisuke hung his cloak on a hook made for that purpose and then moved near to the fireplace and spread his hands to absorb the warmth. There was a basket of wood beside the hearth, and he took a piece and tossed it gently onto the flames. They roared to life for a moment and then returned to their previous intensity. After a moment, Daisuke sat on the floor in front of the fire, trying to better warm himself, and yawned once more.

"Are you tired?" Hikari ventured to ask, and sat beside him. The room was chilly, but it was much warmer in this spot. "You've been yawning a lot."

"It's the cold, I think," he replied. "I don't know why I should be tired. I haven't done anything all day."

"Traveling sometimes does that," she agreed. "All day doing nothing but feeling the wheels rumble underneath and watching the ground go by. It's…hypnotizing almost."

A moment of silence passed before he spoke, eyes watching the flames before him. "I suppose you want to know what I remembered."

She hesitated. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…."

Daisuke shrugged. "I don't remember much. It's still kind of hazy, really. It's just…that courtyard we passed…they have auctions there."

It took a moment before the realization sank in. "Oh!" Hikari said suddenly, voice like a whisper. "You mean - ?"

He nodded, frowning. "Yeah."

"Then you mean – you saw one? He didn't – you weren't - ?" She stumbled over her words for a moment and then stopped. "I'm sorry. Go on."

"He would have, I think," Daisuke answered, a thoughtful sort of expression on his face as he studied the flames leaping in the fireplace. He sighed. "We went to a trader – not one so…impressive as Xiao, but a skinny little guy working in a shop in town, this town, I think. The guy said that he didn't think anyone around here would pay very much because they weren't impressed by spells and, well, I didn't look like I could do much work."

Hikari considered this for a moment, her mind trying to remember back to how the illusion had appeared before it had broken. It was a dim recollection because the spell had been designed to be forgettable, so that even when looking directly at someone under the spell it was difficult to describe them. She nodded. "I'm going to guess that no one offered enough money?"

He shook his head, a strange sort of grin appearing now. "Not even close," he replied frankly. "The trader said that he knew some other people would be willing to pay more – something about another, bigger auction near the capital – but that wasn't for a few months, and we couldn't wait that long."

"Do you know why?"

He was quiet a moment, thinking, and then he shrugged. "I don't know," he answered then. "He seemed to be in a hurry, like he was trying to hide from someone. I don't think he was supposed to let me live, and I don't think he wanted anyone to know that he had."

"So he wanted to get rid of you because he needed to hide," Hikari concluded. "He said that he had no use…but maybe what he really meant was that it would be easier to stay hidden on his own." She mused over this theory for a few moments.

"I don't suppose you have any idea who he was or where he could have gone…or why he _did_ let you live?"

For a brief second, Daisuke hesitated, or maybe it only seemed as though he did, and then he shook his head.

* * *

"This isn't something that you could let wait until spring?" Sora questioned. She was looking over her mug of tea with a worried expression, peering intently in Miyako's direction.

They were seated in a small parlor in the early afternoon. Outside, the sky had grown dark and cloudy as it often did in the autumn, making the room dim and grim. Sora was sipping a bit of tea while sitting in an overstuffed armchair near the roaring fire.

Miyako was aware that she was fidgeting slightly, but perhaps it was only nerves. Perhaps. It might also have been because Taichi, who was idly peering out the window at the gardens below, had glanced at her a few times with an oddly searching gaze. It had been rumored that he could tell when someone was lying, and though Miyako had no intention of lying, she was planning on omitting some of the truth.

"I don't think so," she replied, shaking her head. "The trail of magic won't be quite so clear in a few months. If they really _are_ coming south and stealing people from Yagami, they might also know that I'm on to them, and they might be more cautious."

"How long do you expect a trail to last?" Piyomon questioned from her perch on the back of the armchair. "It's already been a day since you saw them in the marketplace."

"I'm not sure," Miyako admitted. "It depends on who was casting the spells – whose magic it was. Since Igamon have never been known to use magic, dark or otherwise, I can assume that they were sent here by whoever it is they work for, and it was that person's magic that they used to get here."

"Was it very powerful magic?" Sora asked.

"It's not the strongest I've ever sensed," she answered, "but it's far too powerful to be the work of someone who hasn't been studying magic and honing his skills."

"So you think it's a wizard or a mage of some sort who's behind this," Taichi concluded, turning away from the window. He was frowning, eyes narrowed, as though he was trying to remember something. Miyako guessed that he had a vague memory of Xiao, but because he had not been present at that occasion, it was only a memory of a tale of Xiao, and thus not a very strong memory.

"That would be the best conclusion, yes," she said. "I believe that in order to posses a slave spell, it's necessary to have a certain amount of magic to begin with. I don't know much about how this works, but I'm going to guess that most of the slaves in the north are bound with magic. If it's a trader who has sent the Igamon, then he's probably got enough magic to manipulate spells. Either that or he has some powerful wizards working for him."

There was a moment of silence. Sora shook her head. "Is it really necessary that _you_ go, though?" she asked. "You're only recently recovered, and…."

Miyako hesitated for a moment, and Taichi nodded. "It probably is," he said grimly. When Sora looked at him with a surprised expression, he continued, saying, "She's the one who's sensed the magic – she'll have better luck following it than anyone else."

"I suppose you're right," she admitted with a sigh. "So, you want to keep this a secret from her mother, then?"

"That might be the best thing," Miyako put in. "She'd certainly never be all right with it."

"She'll be all right if she has to be," Taichi replied dismissively, and the matter was settled. He glanced toward Miyako, looking as though he was trying very hard to remember something that was important. Finally, he shook his head, dismissing the thought.

"I suppose he's going with you then?" Sora questioned, setting down her now empty cup. Miyako nodded. "Well, I wish you both the best of luck, then."

* * *

To anyone who may be dying of boredom, I promise that there will definitely be some action in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Stay tuned. 


	8. The Middle of the Night

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Eight**: The Middle of the Night

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters and money, do not belong to me. The plot, however, does. Therefore, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

The air was unexpectedly mild in the valley, even after the sun had gone down. The sky was clear of clouds and the stars were bright overhead. There was only a light breeze, and the sound of insects chirping provided an almost constant amount of background music.

The carriage halted beside a gently running stream, and the Monochromon immediately began to drink their fill of the cool water. Shijo climbed down from his perch and took some of the water for himself.

"How long before we reach a place where there's something?" V-mon questioned. He was riding on his partner's shoulders, peering at the map Daisuke was trying to figure out.

"I don't know," he replied. "According to this we should have reached a town two days after crossing the border. Either we took a wrong turn or this map is old and the town doesn't exist, because we're now three days from the border and we haven't even seen a farm."

"It's amazing how much empty space there is here," Hikari mused, peering around the valley. "Not so much as a cottage, and not even a very clearly marked road."

"The perfect place to run off the road and never be seen again," Tailmon muttered darkly. She glanced upward as a shadow momentarily blocked the starlight, and the long form of an Airdramon passed overhead.

"Let's hope not," Hikari replied, watching the serpentine digimon sail by.

"There's nothing to worry about," Daisuke answered, lifting a pile of paper maps in his arms, all borrowed from Hida. "There's no one around for miles, so there's no one here to bother us. If I can find out where we are, we'll have no problems." He grinned around the huge pile.

Tailmon shook her head. "We're doomed, aren't we?"

V-mon nodded. "Oh, definitely."

* * *

The fire was burning brightly, crackling loudly in the still night air. Ken held a long stick over the fire, skewered with a few healthy-sized fish. The smell of roasting fish made the air itself seem delicious.

Miyako sitting on the other side of the fire, a blanket already wrapped around her shoulders for warmth, yawned widely and blinked. "Hurry and cook faster," she mumbled sleepily. "I don't know if I'm more sleepy or tired, but I can't wait much longer for food."

As they had traveled a week's journey in a day by magic, it was not surprising that she was nearly dead with exhaustion, but Ken, who had warned against this possibility, wisely remained silent. Hawkmon did as well, but did not refrain from frowning disapprovingly in her direction. Each time he did, Miyako shrugged and waved him aside, ignoring him.

"Do you have any idea where we are?" she asked instead, sipping a bit more the of the hot tea she'd poured. It wasn't doing much to help her stay awake, probably because her exhaustion was more magical than physical.

"Somewhere in the Northern Kingdom," he replied. "I'm not exactly sure how far north."

They were camped on a plateau at the top of a steep incline. In the far distance, Miyako had thought she could make out smoke rising over the mountains before the sun had gone down, but there was no other sign of life. "Not many people here, are there?"

The fish seemed finished. Breaking the stick in half, Ken handed one of them to Miyako and took the other for himself. As it was still rather hot, he waited for it to cool before eating. "If I remember correctly," he answered, "there are a few towns along the southern border, but most of the people live further north, near the capital."

Miyako had taken a bite of her fish, and now hastily gulped a bit of cool water to cool her tongue. "How far north is that?"

He shrugged. "Ordinarily, it's a week's journey from the border to the capital. How far it is from here, though, I have no idea."

"Well," she said cheerfully, swallowing another mouthful of roasted fish, "at least we don't have to worry about being robbed or anything, since there's no one here."

Cautiously, Ken took a bite of his own fish. He chewed it slowly and carefully before swallowing, satisfied that it was cooled enough to eat. "I don't know about that," he answered pessimistically. "I'm sure there's people hidden around here that we don't know about, and you never know when someone might come quickly out of the night."

"Maybe," Miyako answered, swallowing the last of her fish and yawning once more. "If anyone bothers us tonight, you take care of it, all right? I'm exhausted."

The night was cold, but they hadn't had the space to carry along tents, so she laid a blanket down on the ground beside the fire and pulled another blanket over her to keep her warm. Ken watched as she tucked herself between the blankets, yawning yet again, and fell immediately to sleep.

"All right," he said into the silent night. "I'll take care of it."

* * *

Tailmon heard the sound of rustling leaves and soft footsteps outside the tent, and was awake immediately, her large ears twitching at the slightest sound.

"Hikari," she whispered into the dark, and heard her partner moan with the reluctance of wakefulness. "There's someone here."

"You're sure?" came the reply, and then, a split second later, there came a high pitched screech of an Airdramon, crying out a battle cry.

Hikari wasted no further time with questions, but was on her feet, a blanket over her shoulders, and at the tent's entrance a second later. "Where?" she questioned, and the answer came almost immediately, for directly above her she could hear the screech of an Airdramon, loud enough to waken anyone.

"What is it?" Tailmon wondered, squinting up into the night sky. "What is it fighting?"

"I don't know," Hikari said, and then the sky above them was a mass of writhing, twisting, serpentine bodies. There were at least two dozen of them in the sky, and every last one of them was screeching and screaming in pain and anger. "Where did they all come from?"

"Hikari!" came a voice, and she saw Daisuke standing in the opening of the other tent. "Look out!"

She turned in time to see a figure lunge from the shadows. It was dressed in black, to blend with the night, but it moved like a man, and the pale skin on his face made him visible in the starlight. Without thinking, only reacting, Hikari took a step backwards, and the man passed her by. He turned quickly, lunging for her, but by this point, Daisuke had reached her, and he slammed head first into the man, momentum propelling them both to the ground.

For a moment, they rolled around on the ground, struggling with each other, and then Daisuke broke away, backing off from the man, who had wasted no time drawing a knife from his belt. Daisuke, who was still dressed in his nightclothes and was thus unarmed, had no choice but to back off. Tailmon leapt on to the man's face, and, showing her sharp claws, attacked him with both paws flying. The man screamed and took a few steps backward. Then, he reached up and pulled the feline digimon from his face with both hands and threw her to the ground.

"You'll pay for that," he muttered in a low voice, holding up his knife.

For an eternally long and short moment, nothing happened, and then Daisuke became aware of the sound of footsteps all around – of small, fast moving steps covering the ground. Then, he heard Hikari gasp, and when he looked away from the man, he saw that they were surrounded by a crowd of Igamon, each one peering directly at him.

"No," Hikari said, her voice once more a brief whisper, and that was the last thing the he heard before he felt a sharp pang in his neck and his eyes grew heavy and closed. His knees gave out beneath him and he collapsed to the ground, the Igamon moving like a swarm to surround him.

Hikari turned toward the man. Even in the dark night, she could see that his face was spattered with scratches that were beginning to bleed. "Who are you?"

"None of your business," the man snapped back angrily. He was obviously not in a great mood after having his face badly damaged. He took a step forward, toward her, still brandishing his knife, and, instinctively, she took a step back and found her foot connecting with an Igamon standing directly behind her. They were still surrounded by the crowd of them.

"Does it matter?" the man went on, taking another step, closing the gap between them. "Do you suppose that might have been a better question to ask _before_ your cat attacked me?"

She could think of no quick answer to this question, only stared at him in stunned silence. Then he moved his face so close to hers that she immediately leaned her head back to avoid him. With his right hand he held up the knife and with his left hand he reached around behind her and placed his free hand on her neck. Once more, Hikari thought to step back, and once more she almost tripped over the Igamon behind her. Then, she felt a sharp pain in her neck and her eyes closed.

* * *

The sun rose slowly, the light slowly stretching across the rocky, barren plateau. Overhead, a few Piyomon chirped gleefully as they soared over the empty space, the cold breezes of the autumn air keeping them aloft. The sound of them woke Miyako, who opened her eyes to the early morning sunlight and was immediately inclined to return to sleep.

Hawkmon had awakened already, though, and he was peering up at the Piyomon and looking as though he wanted to join them in a carefree flight through the empty sky. Miyako rolled on to her side and pulled the covers up to her nose, which was cold. She watched as her partner spread his wings, took a few steps, and was quickly airborne. Her eyes followed him as he lifted up and then she spotted a figure standing a short distance away, peering into the light of the rising sun.

It was Ken, still wearing the clothes he'd fallen asleep in, without a blanket, cloak, sweater, or coat over his shoulders. He looked as though he had only recently awakened, and his hair, slightly rumpled from the night's sleep, danced in the breeze. Miyako sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Aren't you cold?" she mumbled sleepily as she got to her feet, taking the blanket with her. "It's freezing." When he neither answered nor turned to face her, she took a few steps and stood beside him on the cold, hard ground. "Something wrong?"

"I think we should go that way," he said, eyes fixed on some distant point that appeared to be almost directly in the center of the sun. Miyako squinted, and saw nothing but spots. She yawned and turned away from the sun, which was too bright for her to see clearly. "Do you sense anything from that direction?"

"Do you?" she returned, and now he turned to face her with a calm, waiting expression. Miyako sighed and shut her eyes, focusing her senses, searching for the magical trail they had followed to this point. It was faint here, but present, and she grabbed hold of it and followed it.

The trail seemed to go in all directions from this point, but there was a thread heading east, toward the sunrise, and so she followed this trail for a while. Around it, she could sense faintly the magic of other mages and wizards who had traveled nearby. Some of it felt very strange, for some of the magic practiced this far north she was not familiar with because it had nearly died in Yagami. There was magic used for healing in this place, which she had encountered on the sanctuary island, but nowhere in Yagami.

Suddenly, however, she became aware of a familiar sort of magic in that area. "What's this?" she mumbled quietly, and turned briefly away from the trail she'd been following to examine it.

"What is it?" Ken's voice questioned.

Miyako opened her eyes and shook her head. "It's so far from here that it's hard to sense it exactly perfectly," she said, hesitating, "but I think that I felt Hikari..." She was quiet a moment, watching him, and then she nodded. "I see. There's a problem, isn't there? Well, let's go."

* * *

Shijo awoke to a dull pain in the back of his head and a faint amount of nausea in his stomach. The tent itself was completely empty, and he guessed that Daisuke and V-mon had both gone to eat breakfast already. He couldn't smell breakfast cooking as he had most mornings, though, and there was a low moaning noise coming from outside the tent.

Agumon was still sleeping, oblivious to the world around him, but Shijo sat up and hurriedly pulled on socks and shoes and wrapped a coat on over his shoulders. Ordinarily, he would have dressed completely before going out, but today, something felt odd.

Outside, the campsite appeared empty and deserted. The other tent was still standing, and the carriage was parked nearby, the Monochromon peaceably munching some of the grass, but there was no fire burning where one had been lit the night before, and there was no further sign of life.

Suddenly, a movement caught his eye, and Shijo noticed a small, white digimon on the ground a short distance away. It was Tailmon, slowly struggling to her feet, obviously injured. She sat down, flexing the muscles in each paw slowly, testing the muscles.

"What happened?" Shijo ventured to ask, and then he saw V-mon sitting up a few steps away, holding the back of his head as though he had been knocked unconscious by a heavy object.

"Stupid Igamon," V-mon mumbled crossly, getting shakily to his feet. He kicked the ground angrily, and stubbed his toe on a large rock. "Stupid…," he muttered, and sat down again.

"Igamon?" Shijo echoed. "The Igamon did this? They came here?"

The low moaning he'd been hearing since he had awakened suddenly grew louder, and more distressed. Any answer Tailmon might have given to this question was drowned out by the sound, which shortly rose to a high-pitched screech that echoed off distant mountains.

"What was that noise?" came the voice of Agumon, who now emerged from the tent, unable to sleep any longer.

"Airdramon," Tailmon realized, already big blue eyes growing wider. She got to her feet and hurried toward the sound. Shijo followed, throwing both hands over his ears to try to preserve his hearing.

The Airdramon in question appeared badly damaged. A series of long, deep wounds was scattered along the entire length of its serpentine body. It was curled in a ball, similar to how it had been perched upon the roof of the border town, and every so often it flailed about as though in great pain. Scattered around it were bodies of men, lying still and unmoving.

"Every last one of them?" V-mon said in a gasp. "How could they get every one of them?"

"They had help," Tailmon replied gravely, and stepped forward. "They didn't get all of them."

Leaning against the injured Airdramon, a tamer lay still, but still breathing. Slowly, he pushed his eyes open and blinked up at the feline digimon who peered over him. "I'm the last one, aren't I?" he questioned in a hoarse voice. "The rest of them…they're all dead."

"Looks that way," she replied. "You must be a pretty good fighter."

"Not…good enough," he answered, and then shut his eyes.

* * *

"I don't know," Miyako said over the sound of the cold wind in her ears. "I don't see anything odd here. Maybe it was only that they passed by this area."

"Maybe," Ken answered, but he sounded skeptical.

They'd been in the air for over an hour, riding on the back of Aquilamon as the giant bird soared over the plateau and the valley beyond, heading east, toward where the sun had come up. The air was cold, and part of Miyako's reluctance to continue was due to the fact that her face was half frozen. She'd donned two sweaters and a cloak, as well as an extra pair of stockings and a thick, knitted scarf, but she was still quite cold. Ken had only thrown on a light jacket and scarf, and seemed otherwise unaffected.

"Does this have something to do with Daisuke and this connection you two have?" Miyako questioned. "Do you think something happened to him?"

"Maybe," Ken replied again, and she felt rather than heard him sigh. "Probably."

"Down there!" Wormmon interrupted, for he'd been watching the ground while they'd been distracted. "It looks like an Airdramon."

"Maybe it was injured," Aquilamon suggested. "Should we investigate?"

Miyako hesitated briefly, glancing back over her shoulder toward Ken. "Yes," he said almost immediately. "Let's go."

* * *

"It's bad," Tailmon admitted with a sigh. She sat down heavily on the ground beside the fire that Agumon had lit. "I don't know anything about how to tend to injured Airdramon, and we're probably too far from any healers. Still, we can't leave them."

"You don't think we should try to find your partners?" Agumon questioned in surprised. "If I was separated from Shijo…."

Tailmon sighed again. "I want to," she replied, "but I don't know if I'd have any luck finding her…not without help, that is. We need help, and the injured need help. They fought hard, and we can't abandon them while they still live."

"We can't do anything to help them, either," Shijo returned, glancing toward the tamer, who lay nearby. They had covered him with blankets and cleaned his wounds, which were numerous, but he had some deep gashes on his chest and stomach that didn't seem willing to stop bleeding. The Airdramon as well was covered with hundreds of scratches and cuts, and its screeching and moaning served as evidence that it was in great pain. The same injuries had felled all six of its mates, and all six of their riders as well.

"So it's either stay here and wait for them to die, or leave them to die and go searching for something we probably can't find," V-mon concluded. He folded both arms across his chest and frowned deeply. "Which is best?"

"Neither one!" Shijo replied. "You can't chose!"

"No," Tailmon agreed, shaking her head, "and yet we have to."

A gust of wind blew through the camp. Shijo shivered and rubbed his arms. The fire danced in the breeze. Overhead, a shadow momentarily blocked the sunlight, and V-mon glanced upward absently, expecting to see a cloud pass over. The others didn't bother to look, and thus were very surprised when he jumped into the air and began waving his arms, shouting, "Over here!"

Aquilamon touched down near to the injured Airdramon and de-evolved almost before his passengers had disembarked. Hawkmon looked around at the bodies around him and shivered. "Something bad indeed," he observed.

"It's horrible," Wormmon said. "These were Airdramon tamers, and all the Airdramon were deleted."

"Except that one," Miyako noted, looking toward the one which remained. "What's responsible for this? Who?"

"Probably more Airdramon," Tailmon replied, having hurried over. "That's the only thing that's capable of doing much more damage. I don't think that Igamon can fight very well in the sky."

"Igamon," Ken echoed. "So they did come."

"At least thirty of them," V-mon put in. "Tell me you have some way of finding them."

Miyako sighed heavily. "If I had known before they left…," she mumbled under her breath and then sighed again. "I'll try." She walked closer to the fire and sat beside it. Taking a deep breath of concentration, she shut her eyes and left the world around her behind.

"I don't suppose," Agumon said, "that you know anything about healing, either humans or Airdramon."

"Humans?" Ken echoed. "Someone survived?"

* * *

At long last, I begin the meat of the story. Stay tuned. 


	9. Gruff and Squeaky

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Nine**: Gruff and Squeaky

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters and money, does not belong to me. The plot of this, however, does. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo. Enjoy!

Moo.

* * *

Daisuke was aware first of the hard, cold feeling of unfinished wood beneath his face. He could see nothing, even when he opened his eyes. He then became aware of a sharp, constant pain in the back of his neck, and when he moved to reach for it with his hands, he was aware that they were bound with a thick, scratchy rope. He was still able to move them both up to his neck, and then to turn his head slightly so that he could reach the spot where the pain originated. He could feel a thin object about the length of his finger protruding from his neck.

"Hold still," said Hikari's voice, a quiet whisper as though she were afraid of being overheard. "I'll…," and then he felt the sharp jolt of pain in his neck. "There."

"What the…?" he mumbled, a bit louder than intended, and rolled himself over, pushing himself up to a sitting position with his hands. "Where…?"

"Hush," she whispered, and he felt the cool skin of her fingers pressing against his mouth, cutting off his words. He wondered how she could see when to him everything was pitch black, and then they heard the sound of footsteps on soft ground not far away.

"Let's go!" shouted a gruff voice, and he instinctively flinched at the sound of a whip cracking. Then came the sound of creaking wheels, and the ground gently jolting beneath them as the wheels rumbled over rocks and stones. "Move it!" said the voice, and the whip cracked again. There was a sharp jump, during which he briefly hovered above the floor beneath him, and then the wheels were creaking faster. Above, he could hear low thudding noises on the wood.

It was only when they were moving that Daisuke understood that they were within a wagon, that the Igamon he had seen must have somehow succeeded in their goal, and that they were now being transported to…somewhere.

"I don't want them to hear us," Hikari said by way of explanation, pulling back from him. "I don't want him to know we're awake."

"Him?" he echoed, having only memories of Igamon crowds. Then, it came to him, and he remembered the pale-skinned man with the knife who had appeared out of the darkness of the night and summoned the Igamon. "Oh."

* * *

Shijo had laid the remaining tamer on a blanket and dragged him inside the nearest tent in the hopes of shielding him from the elements. It was only slightly warmer within the tent as compared to outside, so he wasn't quite sure what good this did. Though they had bandaged his wounds, many of them had not stopped bleeding and, as he and the three digimon with him were completely without medical knowledge or supplies, they had no knowledge of how to help him. Mercifully, the tamer had slipped into unconsciousness brought on by a fever, and so was not aware of his pain.

The sight of him was not a pleasant thing, however, and Miyako turned slightly pale when she entered the tent. "I'm no healer," she said. "I don't think I'll be able to help him."

Ken stepped past her and knelt beside the man. He pushed back the blankets Shijo had pulled up over the patient and took in the sight of his bandaged chest. Most of the bandages were covered with blood, which was a bad sign indeed. Ken was silent for a moment and then he turned his head toward the others, who were huddled in the entrance to the tent, watching him.

"Do you have water?" he asked, and Shijo nodded. "Boil some, and bring it here." Immediately the boy departed, Agumon following along behind him.

"We'll need fresh bandages," he said. "Do you…?"

"We'll find something," V-mon said, and Tailmon nodded, following him.

When they'd gone, Ken began to slowly remove the bloodied bandages from the tamer's chest. The unconscious man groaned and stirred slightly, but did not awake. Miyako watched for a moment.

"Do you think you can save him?" she asked.

"No," he replied immediately. "I'm not a healer, either. You need to find one if he's going to live."

She was quiet a moment. "And Daisuke and Hikari?"

He stopped working, letting his hands fall down to his sides. For a long moment, he was silent, and then he turned toward her. She saw the indecision in his eyes and then he said, "I think they'll live…I don't want to leave this one…."

Another long bit of silence passed and then Miyako said, with determination. "Help him how you can. I'll find him a healer. Then, I'll find Daisuke and Hikari." Then she, too, was gone.

* * *

Daisuke had fallen back to sleep for a bit, and then he'd awakened, and then he'd slept some more. Hikari had done the same, he knew, because after some time he'd become able to see the dim outline of her face and could make out that her eyes were shut and she was lying quite still. Thus, he had no idea how long they had been in the wagon, traveling. He had no idea which direction they were heading, or when they might stop. He could guess at the destination that awaited, but he didn't know how long it might take to reach it.

The wagon stopped suddenly, the sound of creaking wheels vanishing in an instant. Immediately, he came awake, and he was aware that Hikari stirred as well. They were both silent and still, listening for voices or noises beyond the walls.

"If you tell me I came all the way here for nothing," said the gruff voice that had shouted before, "I swear I'll beat the living daylights out of you."

"I…have no way of knowing if…if it's the right one until I see it," said a different voice. It was a hesitant, slightly squeaky voice, and when he heard it, Daisuke felt a twinge of distant memory. Could that be - ?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a key turning in a lock, of ancient iron bolts being thrown open, and the wagon door creaking open. It was like the sound the sound of the creaking wheels multiplied a thousand times over, the sort of noise that slices through one's head.

A blast of sunlight, brighter than a thousand suns, flooded the dark space as the door opened, and Daisuke saw nothing but dark shadowy shapes framed by light. He squinted, but this only made his eyes hurt more, so he looked away from the door.

"Well?" said the gruff-voiced man.

"I can't see anything…it's too dim. Bring him out…," said the squeaky voice. The gruff-voiced man sighed an exasperated sigh.

The wagon was flooded with Igamon an instant later, and Daisuke could feel them pushing and shoving all around him. He squeezed one eye open and found the pain slightly less intense than before, so he didn't shut it right away. He became aware then that he was moving, that the Igamon were pushing him across the hard wood floor toward the door. Then he was through the door, and he fell the short distance to the ground below, landing on his knees.

"I don't have time for this nonsense," said the gruff-voiced man. "Is this it or not?"

The sun outside was even more intense than it had been pouring through the wagon door. Daisuke lifted his head and opened both eyes and stared at the face of the man with the squeaky voice, but saw only dark blotches. He blinked repeatedly, trying to clear his vision, but it didn't help much.

"I…can't see it…," the squeaky-voiced man said, and the sound of metallic squeaking mixed with his voice.

"I'll kill you!" shouted the gruff voiced man, taking a step toward the other. "I'll kill you!"

"No...no, wait," the squeaky-voiced man interrupted, and then he sank down to his knees on the ground, pleading. "I only mean that…that…that…."

"What, what?" shouted the other man. "Speak, already!"

"I mean that I can't see the spell because it's not at f-full strength," the squeaky-voiced man managed to reply. "S-so I can't tell if it's the right one."

"Bloody hell," muttered the gruff-voiced man in a low voice that made his voice sound even gruffer. He reached out and struck the other man, causing his head to fly back. "How do you get it to full strength then?"

Both men turned their heads toward the wagon. Daisuke turned as well and saw that the Igamon had brought Hikari toward the doorway. His vision had cleared enough that he could see her clearly now.

"I said, 'how do you get it to full strength?'," the gruff-voiced man said, taking a step closer to Hikari.

Hikari was silent. At first it seemed as though she was merely considering how to answer, or perhaps trying to remember, but it soon became obvious that she was simply refusing to reply. One of the Igamon reached out and poked her arm, trying to prod her into speaking, but she ignored this motion.

"Bloody hell," he muttered again. "I don't have time for this. Tell me how to bring the spell to full strength."

Hikari shook her head, saying nothing.

Again the Igamon took matters into their own hands. One of them reached out and smacked her arm, this time with force, and another hit her on the back of the head. Hikari flinched at this, but still said nothing.

"Bloody hell!" the gruff-voiced man said, shouting now. "If you don't tell me…."

"I won't tell you anything," Hikari replied, finally speaking. "You can stop wasting your time asking me, because I won't tell you."

He was a tall man, dressed entirely in black save for a navy blue jacket that stopped at his waist, around which he wore a thick belt apparently made of leather. The knife he had brandished before was sheathed there, and so were a few other weapons of various uses. For a moment, he was quiet, staring at her with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open, and then his face turned slightly red, betraying his anger, and he stepped forward and grabbed her, wrapping one of his large hands around her neck.

Daisuke started to get to his feet, only to feel the push of the Igamon crowd forcing him back. Two of them grabbed at the rope which bound his wrists, pulling him down to the ground, and though he was larger than them, they had gravity on their side, and numbers.

Hikari and the tall man were locked in a battle of the eyes, each one staring the other down. The man was trying to convince her of his anger, with each second his glare becoming more intense and the grip of his fingers on her neck becoming tighter. She did not waver in her own gaze of calm intensity, though after some time her expression became slightly more pained as it became more difficult to take in air.

"Hikari!" Daisuke called, having conceded defeat to the Igamon. "Just tell him! It's not worth dying for!"

The tall man released his grip, causing her to fall backwards. The Igamon that had surrounded her moved out of the way so that she landed on the hard wagon floor rather than one of the small digimon. She coughed a few times, recovering her breath, and the man waited a few moments before he bent down and spoke in his low, gruff voice.

"How," he said in a slow, steady voice, "do I bring the spell to full strength?" When she didn't answer right away, he grabbed hold of her wrist, pulling her up to a sitting position. "Tell me, or do it yourself. Or would you rather he becomes mine?"

Her eyes grew wide for a brief moment, and then she shut them briefly. When she finally spoke, her voice sounded a bit hoarse, and she said, "I'll do it."

"Finally!" the man said, throwing his hands in the air. "About damn time!"

The Igamon crowd moved around Hikari once more, pushing her forward, prodding her until she stepped down from the wagon and then was kneeling on the ground in front of Daisuke. She could see a brief flash of fear in his eyes, and then a bit of the blank stare that came with the spell's activation. This, too, passed, however, and she could see a bit of the defiant determination that she recognized.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, hesitating. He shook his head, as though, she thought, to tell her not to bother apologizing. He had, after all, encouraged this, and they both knew that the alternative would be far worse. He was right; it _wasn't_ worth dying over.

The hub of the spell was clustered in a band around his neck, a band which had been loosened but she had never been able to break. The spell itself, therefore, had never been completely broken, either. Without magical sight, the only thing to do was to feel the magic. Closing her eyes both for concentration and so that she wouldn't have to watch the process, Hikari raised one hand and felt for the magic.

She could feel it immediately, although it had been some time since she had weakened it as much as she could without the proper counter spell. Recognizing her touch, for the spell was connected to her as well, the threads of magic reached out, touching her fingers and releasing small sparks of magical energy. She took the thin band of magic and found the spot where the threads had separated the most. The moment her hand touched the spot, the loose threads filled in the gap she had formed two years earlier.

Daisuke let out a short gasp, as though he suddenly found breathing to be more difficult, and Hikari opened her eyes despite her previous resolve not to. His eyes became briefly unfocused, and then the spell escaped from the band where it had been contained, the magical threads spreading out to encircle over every part of him. She pulled her hand back now. The magic would need no assistance to do what it had been designed to do.

"Amazing," squeaked the smaller man, peering through his mechanical spectacles.

Hikari paid no attention to him, or to the taller man, or to the crowd of Igamon. She was watching Daisuke; watching his eyes, watching him. Any expression drained away from his face, and his eyes refocused on nothing, staring blankly ahead. He blinked once, and seemed to see her, though only for a moment.

The spell was completely active now, at full strength. In a voice that did not seem to be his own, and yet was, Daisuke mumbled, "Mistress…how may I serve you?"

"Amazing," squeaked the small man, crawling forward through the Igamon crowd. They quietly formed a path for him.

Impatiently, the gruff-voiced man tapped one foot and crossed his arms at his chest. "Well?" he demanded.

"Oh, this is it. This is it. This is definitely it," replied the squeaky-voiced man, his voice squeaking even more than before in his excitement. "Yes. This is exactly the spell I saw two years ago." He turned toward Hikari, who was looking at him with some surprise at this last statement. "Tell me, how much did you pay him for this?"

"Pay him?" she echoed, and shook her head.


	10. Disentanglements

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Ten: **Disentanglements

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon, _all related characters and what not, is not mine. The plot, however, is. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky, indicating that it was past noon. Miyako had been following a thread of magic for nearly an hour, seeking out the nearest source of healing magic in the area. She had debated this course of action even while in the air, convinced as she was that Hikari and Daisuke had gone in the opposite direction.

Should they leave the tamer to die, knowing that there was no way they could save him, or should they spend valuable hours trying to prevent what seemed inevitable? It seemed likely that even with the aid of a healer both he and the Airdramon might die, and in the meantime Daisuke and Hikari were likely traveling even farther away than before. The answer to these questions – whatever answer might come – _had_ to come from Miyako, for it was unlikely that anyone could be found without the aid of her magic.

In the end, she had opted to seek out the healer, having come to the conclusion that the lives of the Airdramon and his rider was in far more serious danger than the lives of her friends. If the Igamon that had attacked did work for Xiao, it was not likely that they would stoop to murder, if their previous attacks were any indication. For the time being, Daisuke and Hikari were probably safe. She hoped.

And so, an hour past noon, her head and conscience feeling no clearer than when she had left, Miyako caught sight of a large building poking out through the tall grasses that surrounded it. As it grew closer and came into focus, she saw that it appeared to be a complex of stone buildings, surrounded by a low protective wall. As Aquilamon sank lower in the sky, searching for a place to land, she became more and more certain that the source of the healing magic was in this place.

They set down in the midst of the tall grasses, which were so high that Miyako could barely see over them. "All right," she said, studying the building through the weeds. "This is where the healing magic is…but what is this place?"

"What I wouldn't give for an accurate map," Hawkmon muttered from her shoulder, having de-evolved upon landing. "Shall I fly ahead and see what's to be seen?"

She hesitated a moment, and then shook her head. "No," she replied. "I don't think there's danger here. All I sense is healing magic. This building either houses a large number of healers or one very powerful healer. A building filled with that much healing magic can't mean to cause us any harm, right?"

"Let's hope your logic is unflawed," Hawkmon replied dryly.

The stone wall they had observed from overhead was apparently for defensive purposes. On the ground, it did not seem to be so low as she had thought from the air, and the only passage through it was at a tall gate in the middle. Two men stood, one at either edge of the gate, each holding a tall spear in one hand and with a sword and a knife visible on his belt. One was partnered with a Lopmon, which was lounging lazily at his partner's feet, and the other with a Piyomon, who was taking his duties much more seriously and was the first to notice the visitors.

"Who goes there?" squeaked the bird digimon, and both his partner and the other guard turned. The Lopmon leapt to his feet, apparently fearful of being caught loafing.

Miyako glanced briefly toward Hawkmon as she considered the best way to respond, and then replied, "I need help. I sense healing magic here, and I have need of a healer."

The guards lowered their spears, glancing toward each other with wry grins. "You're in the right place then, ma'am," said the partner of the Piyomon. "This is the largest House of Healing in the kingdom."

* * *

The door slammed shut, the echo of the harsh sound filling the empty, dark space of the wagon. Outside, Hikari could make out the sounds of conversation between the two men. The smaller, squeaky-voiced man was apparently demanding some sort of compensation for his journey, and the taller, gruff-voiced man was haggling. The sound of jingling coins mixed in with the sounds of their voices, which grew slightly louder as the haggling grew more tense.

Inside, she found herself once more in complete darkness, which seemed even darker than before now that she had been out in the bright sunlight. She waited, hardly daring to move until the argument concluded with the sound of footsteps departing. A few moments later she could hear the crack of the whip as the driver urged the Monochromon forward, and they groaned in response. The wagon bounced and jolted and then slowly began to move forward.

Only now did Hikari dare to move. She wanted to remove the spell once more, but doing so would be difficult without being able to see. She could wait until her eyes once more became used to the lack of light, but that might take a while. For now, she couldn't even see her hand when she held it up in front of her face.

The only thing to do, she concluded, was to resort to magic she had rarely used before. Although she had spent a few weeks on the sanctuary island, studying magic with different mages, Hikari had not since had much occasion to dabble with her own gifts. She knew, however, that she would be able to produce some light if she tried hard enough, and if she did so, it would make her job much easier. Easier meant faster, and faster was better.

The spell which Daisuke had the bad luck of being entangled in was not a simple spell. Not only did it bind one entirely, forcing one to do as the master bid, but it also had aided in producing blind obedience by removing all sense of self. No slave would wish to break free of a spell if he or she had no knowledge of life outside of it – of what life had been or would be without the spell. It had taken him many months to regain all the memories he had lost the first time, and although Hikari was fairly certain that only a few minutes would have a less disastrous effect, she was still anxious to remove it as soon as possible.

She had not expected to ever have to remove it again, and she had certainly never expected to have to do so in complete darkness, but she had planned ahead, so that once it had been deactivated once, it could easily be deactivated again if the need arose.

After a few moments of concentration, of seeking out a long since abandoned bit of magic within herself, Hikari found that she could see her right hand as she held it before her eyes. She had several times seen Miyako conjure a floating ball of fire for light, but that was a different sort of magic, and what Hikari created was not burning, but simply light. It was a round sphere of a ball large enough to be held in her palm, but hovering slightly above her hand. For a moment she was so astonished by this ability that she simply stared at it in silence.

As though he had somehow sensed the incredible significance of this event – was there that much of himself still remaining? – Daisuke was watching the ball, blinking his eyes a few times as though he was surprised. His eyes, as they always were while the spell was active, were blank and his face was expressionless, but he blinked more often than necessary and Hikari decided this was a positive sign.

She crawled forward on her knees until she was but an arm's length from him, and then, with her free hand, reached forward toward him, toward the place where the magic was concentrated, at his neck. With ease this time she found the spot where she had nearly broken the band, and when her fingers made contact with it, the magic reached out to touch her, recognizing the one they were made to obey. Slowly, the spell began to recede, with much greater reluctance than when it had been set free.

Had she been able to see the magic, Hikari would have noticed the million little tendrils slowly leaving their places where they had been, wound around every part of Daisuke and snaking back upward to his neck, where they reformed the band she had almost but not quite destroyed.

She could not see the magic, however, and so Hikari once more was watching his face, watching his eyes. She did not back away and remove her fingers from the magic now, for it would need the encouragement for this as it had not needed it to escape. In the quiet of the empty wagon, she once more heard him take a sharp gasp of air, and then he blinked and leaned forward, breathing heavily, as though he had held his breath for the last half-hour. Instinctively, Hikari abandoned the ball of light, leaving it to fall to the ground and extinguish itself, and placed this hand on his shoulder to prevent him from collapsing. She did not pull back her left hand even now, afraid that the magic would escape once more, regardless of her wishes.

For a long moment, there was no sound, only Daisuke breathing. Hikari had stopped; she was holding her breath, waiting. When she was certain that the spell had done as she'd asked, she pulled back her hand from the magic and placed it on his other shoulder, pushing him upright. It was dark once more, so that she could not see his face or anything else in the wagon. She became aware of the sound of her heart pounding, and it seemed very loud in her ears.

* * *

As winter was growing closer, the air was growing colder and the days shorter. In late afternoon, with the sun beginning to set and the chill of the night beginning to set in, Shijo sat down on a large rock near the roaring fire and warmed his hands. He'd been boiling water and cleaning bandages for the last few hours, and now his arms and shoulders were beginning to ache. Agumon, who had not done nearly as much work as his partner, had already collapsed on to his stomach and fallen asleep near the fire.

V-mon had fallen to sleep shortly after noon. Shijo had been inclined to scold him and shake him back awake, but Ken had stopped him, reminding him that digimon often tired easily when far from their partners. Tailmon, too, seemed lethargic, although she was known for taking frequent naps even when Hikari was no more than a few steps away.

As the sun began to set, V-mon, lying on a large rock nearby, opened his eyes and stared up at the dark blue sky. "I'm hungry," he mumbled absently.

"Noodles…," Agumon muttered in his sleep. "Noodles…."

"I don't have any noodles," Shijo answered, wondering if this was the best thing to do. "We have some fish and some rice. That's all."

"Noodles," Agumon whined, leading his partner to believe that he was not actually asleep. "Noodles are yummy."

"Maybe Miyako has noodles," V-mon mumbled absently, and rolled over on to his side, closing his eyes again.

Shijo didn't see how this would help, being as Miyako had been gone for about three hours already. She had gone to find a healer, not to find noodles. As he was thinking this absurd thought, a shadow passed over his head and then moved on, and he looked up to see that Aquilamon had chosen that precise moment to return.

The large bird touched down not far from the camp, briefly startling the Monochromon, who were enjoying the break from traveling by continuously eating the grass in the area and occasionally sleeping standing up. There was a brief flash of light, and then the giant bird was gone, replaced by the much smaller Hawkmon, who was following behind his partner.

A middle-aged woman had accompanied them, dressed in a shapeless sort of pale blue robe. There was a hood attached to it, which had fallen off during the flight, revealing slightly graying hair beneath. Behind her trailed her partner Piyomon. As they walked into the center of the camp, Ken emerged from the tent where the injured tamer was.

"I'm glad you're here," he said to the Healer, and his words seemed genuine, for he looked tired. "I don't know how much time he has…."

As though it had overheard this statement, the Airdramon at the opposite edge of the camp chose that moment to moan in pain, its cries echoing through the empty plains. All present winced, both at the sound and the pain evident within.

"Not much, it would seem," the Healer replied when the noise had faded. "Nor has that Airdramon. We need to work quickly. I see you've already got a fire going. Good." She rummaged in the sack she carried on her shoulder and removed a small leather bag from within. Then, she opened it, taking out some small green leaves. "Put these in a pot of boiling water and then use that to clean its wounds. I'll tend to the man."

* * *

It seemed as though an eternity had passed in dark and silence. All that Hikari could hear was the sound of her heart beating loudly in her ears and the sound of Daisuke taking gasping breaths a short distance away. Slowly but surely he had managed to calm himself so that he was breathing at a much less frantic pace, but Hikari had accomplished no such task, and her heart was still pounding away so loudly in her ears that she could hear little else.

"Hikari?" he said then, and she was so startled by this sound in the silence that she pulled back both hands and slid backwards on her knees. "Are you all right?" he asked, apparently alarmed by her sudden actions.

Hikari didn't answer for a long moment and then when she did speak, she stumbled over her words. "Am-am _I_ all right?" she returned sharply, staring in the direction she thought he was. It was too dark to see, but she could now make out a dim shape in his direction. "Y-you…!"

"I'm fine," he answered, his voice sounding strangely calm, possibly an effect of the spell. "I'm…."

The rest of whatever he might have said was cut off then as Hikari, in a sudden, spontaneous move, threw herself forward and hugged him so tightly that it actually became difficult to breathe. Then, the impulsive mood disappearing as quickly as it had come on, she let go, her arms falling down into her lap, suddenly now feeling rather silly. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I was just…."

"It's all right," Daisuke replied. "I'm all right. Are you?"

It was still impossible to see anything but blurry gray blobs in the darkness, and so she was compelled to reach forward and make physical contact to assure herself that he was really there. "I think so," she answered, and as she felt forward in the darkness her hands collided with his. "I was…I was afraid that you'd forget everything again."

He shook his head, she could hear this movement even though she couldn't see it. "No," he answered, his voice now with a slight edge of stubborn certainty. She felt his hands then wrap around one of hers, as though to convince her of this fact. "I forgot nothing."

"I'm glad," she said.

* * *

By the time the sun had sunk beneath the horizon both the Airdramon and his tamer were sleeping peacefully. The Healer had worked quickly and not only eased the pain in both creatures but also managed to lower the fever that the man had begun to develop. She was concerned, however, about the fact that his partner was nowhere in sight.

"D-do you think it was deleted?" Shijo questioned, passing the woman a bowl of rice and broth that he'd heated over the fire. The healer sighed heavily as she took the bowl from him.

"It's a possibility," she replied. "I hope, for his sake, that it was not." She shook her head and took a bite of the rice. "It will be most difficult for a man to live without his partner, although I have seen some that have fared quite well. If his partner has been deleted, it is certain he will never be the same again."

There was a long silence following this. Shijo considered the gravity of her words while the Healer took another bite of the rice and then sipped a bit of water. Ken was silent, appearing to be paying attention only to his meal, but Miyako noticed that Wormmon was looking up at his partner with a concerned expression.

"How long do you suppose before the Airdramon can fly again?" Hawkmon questioned. Being a bird digimon, the question of flight was important to him.

She considered the question while she chewed over another mouthful of rice. "I should think no more than a few days. The wounds are numerous, but not deep. If it wishes to, it won't be too long."

"If it wishes to?" Shijo echoed. "You mean it might not want to?"

"If it's hurt badly enough," Ken said unexpectedly, not looking up from his bowl of rice, "it might lose the will to live."

Again there was silence. Shijo frowned and then, noticing his rice was becoming cold, began to eat from his bowl. Miyako looked toward Ken with a worried expression, but he seemed not to notice, focusing instead on his rice.

"Quite true," the Healer replied, swallowing her rice. "Sometimes the wounds that one sustains are not only what can be seen with the eyes. Sometimes, the greater injury is to the spirit. In humans, one who has a completely undamaged physical body might suddenly find himself unable to walk."

She frowned as she continued, "The Airdramon, especially the tamed Airdramon who work with these tribes, are especially vulnerable to these spiritual wounds. I've seen quite a few who, even though their bodies were healed, were unwilling to leave the ground, or to travel much higher in the sky than the height of a human."

"Is that because they form strong bonds with their tamers, their riders?" Miyako wondered.

"That's one theory," the Healer answered, nodding. "It's believed they suffer great guilt as well, believing that they have failed their rider in some way, especially if injured in battle."

The group lapsed into silence then as all gathered finished their rice without speaking. Even when she'd finished, Miyako found herself absently staring into her empty bowl, wondering about the fate of the tamer if his partner had been deleted.

"I think we ought to leave in the morning," Ken said, breaking the silence. Miyako looked up from her bowl in surprise. With all the concern for the injured, she had nearly forgotten about Daisuke and Hikari. She glanced toward V-mon, who had devoured two or three bowls of rice with his usual vigor, and Tailmon, who had settled into her usual after-dinner nap. Both had supported the decision to help the Airdramon and the tamer before seeking out their partners, and were pretending that nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Yeah," Miyako agreed with a sigh. "If there's any sort of trail, it'll dissipate the longer we wait, and then we'll have a really hard time."

"They're at least a day's journey from here," Hawkmon pointed out. "I suppose that means you'll want to fly?"

"It'll be the best way to catch up with them," she replied. "We can travel in a few hours what Monochromon can take in a day."

"That's assuming they used Monochromon," Wormmon pointed out quietly.

"They did," Ken answered, and his voice held such certainty that Miyako was not inclined to argue.

Hawkmon had no such inclination. "How can you be sure of that?"

He glanced toward Miyako. "Do you sense the presence of magic here that is neither your own nor healing magic?"

She shut her eyes, concentrating. "It's been a whole day," she reminded him. "At the time, I don't remember sensing much…only the faint bit that brought the Igamon. There's a little more of that same magic, but not much."

"There were more Igamon," Shijo interjected, having been paying some attention to the conversation while he'd cleaned away the remains of the meal.

"Lots more," V-mon agreed. He rolled over on to his stomach, observing the others from a nearby rock at the edge of the firelight. "Dozens."

"Only Igamon?" Ken questioned. "Or were there humans, too?"

"Just one," he replied.

Tailmon rolled onto her back and looked at her claws. The light of the fire glinted off the sharp surface in the darkness. "I took care of him," she mumbled absently, "but then…."

"But then he threw you!" V-mon replied, sitting up suddenly. "If I see that one again…."

A moment of silence followed this pronouncement as all present silently filled in with their own imagination what might be the end to this threat.

"He's not the one you ought to be concerned about," Wormmon said then, his quiet voice managing to command attention. "You should worry about the one who sent him."

In unison, both Tailmon and V-mon clenched their fists and muttered one word. "Xiao." It was more of a growl than anything.

"You don't sense any magic that might have been strong enough to transport dozens of Igamon and three humans a day's journey away in an instant, do you?" Ken questioned of Miyako.

"No…," she admitted, "but the Igamon…."

"I'm guessing that the magic on the Igamon was used to hide them," he replied, "not to instantly send them halfway across the kingdom. That seems far more practical."

"I assume," said a different voice, "that the magic you speak of is of the darker variety?"

They had forgotten that the Healer was present, and a moment of stunned silence followed the question. Miyako nodded.

"Hmm," she replied, "Yes, I sense that as well, though very faint. I have no experience with teleportation spells, but I know they require a great deal of energy. If one had been used here, with any sort of magic, I am certain we would be quite aware of it."

"Yes, but to transport only a single Igamon," Miyako put in, "would that not take far less magic?"

"I have never seen nor heard of anyone using such a spell to transport Igamon," replied the Healer, "although that does not seem unlikely. You say there were dozens of Igamon here, though. Even if a miniscule amount of magic is used for one of the digimon, that amount would have to be multiplied dozens of times to transport dozens of Igamon. You would sense it far stronger than it is here."

"I suppose that's true," she admitted.

"I agree with your theory," the Healer said, nodding toward Ken, "that the bit of magic was used as concealment. It's possible that your friends walked into a circle of Igamon without knowing they were here."

"There were Airdramon," Tailmon said, glancing upward. "The Airdramon were fighting something in the sky. What else would take on seven Airdramon and kill six of them? What else would leave such wounds on an Airdramon if not another Airdramon? Not only Igamon."

"So maybe they departed on Airdramon?" V-mon concluded. "If that's true, we'll never catch them!"

"No, I don't think so," Ken said again. "I still think it more likely that some sort of cart was used, that Monochromon were involved."

"Why?" Miyako questioned, "If they had Airdramon, why would they use Monochromon?"

He had no great response to this question, but only shook his head.

* * *

This would have been up a few days ago, but I had this nasty cold that made it possible only for me to sleep, not to write. Ick.

Expect further delays on the next chapter. The Thanksgiving-Christmas rush that the western world both loves and dreads is approaching, and I'm going to be working extra long days and hours this week. I'll try to have the next chapter out within a week, but if it's two weeks don't be surprised. Sorry!


	11. Revelations II

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Eleven: **Revelations II

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters, merchandise, and money, does not belong to me. The plot, however, does. In short, don't steal, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

Hikari could not remember the last time she had eaten. Most likely it was before going to bed the night that the Igamon had attacked, but she wasn't quite sure how long ago that was. It felt as though they'd been traveling along in this windowless wagon for an eternity. She was sure that it had been at least a day since then, because it was certainly long enough for that, but without the sun, she had no way of knowing for sure.

There was nothing to do in the silent darkness but listen – listen to the sound of the wheels turning and the Monochromon groaning and the occasional crack of the whip as it urged them forward. They listened for other sounds as well, for some clue of what direction they were heading in, and for some clue of how long they would be or had been traveling. This was futile, being as the only man present did not seem to be interested in conversing with the Igamon, and the Igamon did not speak.

Hikari had fallen into sleep, half from boredom and half from exhaustion. Though she had not felt it at the time, the small bit of magic she had employed had left her tired, and the lack of nourishment added to this feeling, making her feel rather week. She was awakened by the sound of the wheels rumbling not over dirt or grass, but some hard, solid substance that caused them to clatter loudly.

"Wood?" she wondered, listening without moving. "Are we rolling over wood?"

"A bridge maybe," Daisuke answered. "Over a river or something."

The clattering noise changed then, and Hikari sat up as though it might help her to hear better. It was still loud, but there was a different quality to it now.

"Stones," Daisuke mumbled. "It's a road."

She was quiet a long moment, allowing the idea to sink in. "If it's a road…does that mean we're close?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "It might."

They both fell silent then, listening to the sound of the wheels clattering on stones beneath them. Hikari felt tense, waiting for the moment that the wagon would halt and the door would fly open, but they didn't stop, and the wheels went on rolling beneath them.

"I wanted to ask you something," she said after a long silence had passed without incident. "That man – the one with the squeaky voice – said that it was the same spell he saw two years ago. Do you - ?"

"Yeah," Daisuke answered with a sigh. "He's the one I told you about – the trader we met in the town. I guess that was two years ago, now. It seems so much longer."

"Are you sure it's the same one?"

He considered this for a few moments. "Pretty sure," he replied. "His voice sounded the same, and I don't remember having met any other traders. There's no way that he would know the spell if he hadn't seen me then. That contraption he put on his head – the crazy thing made with metal? It does the same thing as Miyako's glasses would do."

"It lets anyone with magic see magic," Hikari concluded. "I thought so. I didn't know there were any such things."

"I don't think there are, except for that one," Daisuke answered. "Come to think of it, maybe that's why we went to him – because he could see the full extent of the spell and then be impressed by it more than any other trader."

"I still don't understand, though. If the whole point to going north and finding a trader was to get some money for selling you, then why did he then bring you to me and give you away?"

Daisuke sighed in response to this question, and once more Hikari had the vague impression that he knew something more that he was not willing to share – or perhaps he did not know it with certainty. "I don't know," he said, leaning his head back against the wall he had been sitting against. "I don't have a clue what he was thinking."

* * *

In the early morning, with the sun barely risen, Miyako rose from bed feeling far from refreshed. The air was sharp and cold, and her nose felt frozen. She had slept little, in part because of an odd dream in which she was standing on the edge of a cliff. It was a rocky, tall cliff that overlooked a deep, vast canyon that seemed to stretch for an eternity. At the bottom was a wide river that from the top looked barely larger than her smallest finger.

All night, she had stood upon the edge of the cliff and then flown over the canyon, gently wafting downward until she could see how large the river was. Then, the dream would dissipate and she would sleep peacefully for a short while, until she was once more standing on the edge of the vast canyon.

As she pulled on a second pair of stockings in the cold morning air, Miyako wondered if the dream meant something. Most often, her dreams were simply vague fantasies or fears, but this one felt odd, and it had recurred throughout the night several times. She couldn't help wondering if it was some sort of sign.

She laced up her boots and tied them tightly, then pulled on two sweaters before she pushed open the tent flaps and stepped out into the world. The rest of the camp was still silent, with even the injured Airdramon and his tamer resting peacefully thanks to the healer's ministrations.

There was a pile of wood gathered in the spot set aside for fires, but none was lit yet, as no one was yet awake. Miyako sat down on a low, flat rock beside the pile of wood and stared into the center of it, thinking warm thoughts. It was still very early, but her mind was curiously awake for this time of day, and she was anxious to get started. Thus, in a matter of seconds, a spark lit in the middle of the wood, and a few moments later a fresh, hot fire was blazing in the middle of it.

When the warmth of the flames had restored the feeling to the tip of her nose and her fingers, Miyako set about the task she had put off for an entire day and sought out the feeling of Hikari and the trail the Igamon had left.

Though her magic was undoubtedly powerful, Hikari did not ordinarily have much opportunity to practice at it, and so was not quite so skilled as she had the potential to be. To an unskilled mage, or to one who had little or no knowledge of the nature of her magic, the princess would be nearly undetectable. The magic she possessed was well hidden, and the feel of it so subtle and different from that of any other ordinary mage that most assumed it did not exist.

Miyako was neither unskilled nor unfamiliar with Hikari's magic, being as the two of them had spent much time in each other's company. All the same, detecting her magic over a great distance – when it was not likely she had used it at all since departing – was going to be quite difficult.

Or so she thought.

* * *

"No clue?" Hikari echoed. "How can that be? You must have spent a great deal of time around him – surely you have some idea…."

He shook his head. "You're forgetting something," he answered, looking up at the roof of the wagon. "I am – was – a slave, not a friend."

"Yes, but still…."

Again he shook his head and now he lowered his gaze from the roof so that he was looking at her out of the bottoms of his eyes.

"I don't understand," she went on. "Doesn't the spell bind me to you the same as you to me? Isn't there some sort of - ?"

He shook his head once again. "You forget the main point of the spell, princess. It's to force obedience, not form connections."

"Well, yes," she admitted, "I understand that. Still, wouldn't a perfect servant be one who knew what you wanted without having to be asked for it?"

"Yes," he answered, "but that's only if the master wishes it to be known."

She considered this a few moments. "I suppose you're right. I guess I don't really have any sort of experience with how slave spells work."

Unexpectedly, Daisuke grinned at this statement. "I think you have more experience than anyone else in Yagami," he replied. "You're the only one who's had one legally for over three hundred years."

Unsurprisingly, this did not make her happy. "It was not by choice," she replied. "I did not then nor do I now have any use for a slave, nor do I want one. There's a reason they outlawed it so long ago."

He only grinned wider, and laughed. "Do you think that I would argue that it ought to be legal?"

"Don't be silly," Hikari scolded.

Before he could reply, however, there was a sharp jolt as the wagon came to a sudden stop, and he fell silent, all silliness fading away.

Oddly enough, it was only in that moment, as they waited for the door to swing open and the Igamon to spill in again, that Hikari realized what a state she must be in. She'd not been conscious of it, being as they were in almost total darkness, but now, as a shiver of fear ran down her spine, she became aware that she was still dressed in her nightgown. Though warm and comfortable, it was not something designed for traveling, and she was sure that it was torn and dirty by now.

The door swung open sharply with a loud, ear-splitting creak, and hazy sunlight spilled into the interior of the wagon. It was the dim, foggy sunlight of early morning, and Hikari guessed that they had driven through one day and night and on into the next. Had it really been two days now since the Igamon had appeared? Two days since she had eaten or drank anything?

The realization of the passage of time – which was undoubtedly the most conservative estimate available – reminded both her mind and her stomach then of the lack of nourishment. She thought to get to her feet, but found that her legs were reluctant to comply with this thought, and so she simply sat as she had been and waited for whatever might happen next.

There was a small crowd outside the door, and as her eyes adjusted to the light, Hikari saw that at least a dozen pairs of eyes were peering back at her. They were not Igamon eyes, but human eyes, and some of them had an odd, greedy look that sent another shiver down her spine. For the first time, she felt strangely like a large slice of cake sitting in the window of a pastry shop.

"Damn it," she heard Daisuke mutter from nearby.

"Don't stand there, you incompetent imbeciles!" came the gruff voice of the man who had driven them here. "Get to work!"

There were no mutters of complaints, no questions, no words spoken at all amongst the men, but they immediately got to work, climbing aboard the wagon. Instinctively, Hikari slid backward without getting up, but this action was of no use, for then there were three men surrounding her.

They didn't speak or make any sort of noise, but simply looked at her for a long moment, and she began for the first time to wish for the presence of Igamon instead. A pair of rough hands grabbed hold of her left arm, and then another pair grabbed her right, and then the third man reached forward and her wrists suddenly felt heavier than before. Her mind had ceased its ability to reason, and so she was quite surprised when she glanced down then and saw that they had placed metal shackles upon them.

"We haven't got all day!" shouted the gruff voiced man from somewhere outside the wagon, which might as well have been on the other side of the kingdom. "The master is waiting!"

The men on either side of her were still latched onto her arms, and they now got to their feet in one fluid motion, and Hikari found that she moved with them. They began to walk, and she found that she had to force her own legs to move with them unless she wished to be dragged along the ground. With two long strides they had crossed the wagon and lifted her down to the ground and then her bare feet came in contact with the frozen ground.

The air outside was cold. Somehow the wagon had managed to be warm enough so that she had almost forgotten that it was not only fast approaching winter, but also quite a bit farther north than she was used to being. So harsh was the cold that she suddenly came to her senses and turned her head back the way she had come.

"Daisuke!" she called over he shoulder, but could see nothing, only more pairs of eyes staring at her. "Daisuke! Are you - ?"

"I'm here," he replied then, his voice once more sounding strangely calm and composed. He sounded, Hikari thought, as though nothing were out of the ordinary, as though he had been expecting this, and she realized then that she ought to have been expecting this as well. Feeling suddenly rather stupid and silly, she turned her head back to the direction in which she was headed and concentrated on trying to pick up her feet so that her toes were not dragged along the frozen ground.

She could not see around her or where they were headed, she only kept her head down so that she would see where her feet ought to step and so that she would not see the eyes staring at her. The ground was made up of smooth stones and brownish-gray dirt that was frozen in the cold air.

At least, she thought, if they were walking quickly, it might mean that they would soon reach some place warmer, someplace that might be inside, near a warm fire. Someplace that might allow her toes to thaw out.

* * *

By the time the others rose from bed, the fire Miyako had lit by means of magic had nearly devoured the small pile of wood. She was still sitting beside it, eyes shut in an expression of concentration, when Ken emerged from the tent, Shijo following him sleepily.

"I guess she couldn't wait to get to work," Agumon mumbled in between a few yawns. He had only awakened because it was too cold in the tent, and he would need to come outside to find the heat of a fire. He sat down on the ground beside the flames and yawned again, looking as though he was ready to return to sleep.

"Lazy," Shijo muttered lightly kicking at his partner with his foot (though not with enough intensity to actually injure the digimon). "Get to work and get some more wood, why don't you? Otherwise that fire won't last more than another few minutes."

Grumbling to himself, the small dinosaur reluctantly got to his feet and went in search of wood while his partner rummaged through their supplies for more food. Ken sat down beside Miyako on the low, flat rock and warmed his hands by the flames. He was not expecting conversation and was thus a bit surprised when she spoke.

"I think we ought to send word back home."

"That bad?"

Miyako sighed. "I don't know what's happened, and I'm not sure exactly where they are. All I do know is that Hikari has used her magic more in the last two days then she has in two years."

He was quite for a long moment. "That's a bad sign. Do you know why?"

"I am almost completely certain that it's Xiao who's responsible for this," she answered, not bothering to hide the anger in her voice. "If it's not him, then it's another greedy…someone who wants that spell. I highly doubt that."

"How do you know this? Was the spell activated?"

"Yes," she replied immediately, and then hesitated a moment. "I also think Hikari might have been the one who activated it in the first place."

He had no clear response to this, only stared at her for a long moment.

"The trail leads northeast," Miyako continued, elaborating, "in almost a straight line. I can sense Hikari very faintly along that path, and at certain points, her magic feels stronger to me than at others."

"I don't suppose I need to ask you if you're certain it's her," Ken stated with a frown.

She shook her head. "I have no doubt of that. None whatsoever."

He nodded, gesturing for her to continue. "The points at which the magic feels stronger are the points where she used the magic?"

"Yes. There are two points where she does that – where she uses magic. The first point on the trail is only a faint bit of it. It doesn't take much magic at all to activate the spell…."

"Then you sensed the spell's magic?"

"More clearly than I have in the two years since it was last active."

He was quiet a moment. "The second point, I'm assuming, is at the same spot as where the spell fades again?"

"Yes, and it's also where Hikari's magic is used again, and with more intensity than before. It _does_ take magic to deactivate the spell."

"Are you sure about this? That spell hasn't been activated or deactivated for two years. Are you sure you know how it feels – how it could be deactivated?."

"I know, and I'm sure," she answered. "I was there when it was deactivated the first time. I was there when the mages on the island helped Hikari figure out _how_ to deactivate it. That was exactly what they wanted to happen – that if it was ever activated, it wouldn't be too hard to deactivate it again."

He frowned in confusion. "Why - ?"

Miyako shrugged. "It was what she wanted. I don't know if she was being practical, thinking that there would be someone else who would have some desire for the spell, or if she had some sort of idea that this would happen. Hikari always had a sort of feel for the future."

"If that was true," Ken interrupted, "why would she come north, knowing that Xiao had attacked, and knowing she'd be in danger?"

* * *

Apologies for the longer than expected delay on this. Far too many things going on at once for me to be able to concentrate on writing. There shouldn't be any delays on the next chapter (although life might interfere, so don't be shocked if there are).

Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope you're enjoying.


	12. The Slave Lord Xiao

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Twelve:** The Slave Lord Xiao

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters, merchandise, and money, does not belong to me. The plot, however, does. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo. Enjoy!

Moo.

* * *

The doors were taller than ten men standing atop each other, and they appeared at first glance to be made of a solid, thick metal. Hikari stared at them with a sense of doom, for she was somehow certain that whatever was beyond the doors would not be pleasant.

It took six men to pull the doors open, they were so heavy, and then they were only opened a small amount before the strong hands gripping her arms dragged her through the gap. Beyond the doors she could see only empty space of what appeared to be an open courtyard, and then a building in the distance. After taking only few steps forward, Hikari heard the doors slam shut loudly behind her. She turned her head, hoping to see if Daisuke had been taken through the doors as well, but she couldn't see beyond the shoulder of the man at her right, and the action made her bare feet stumble and scrape on the frozen ground.

Only a few moments after passing through the first set of doors, Hikari found herself standing before another set. These were a bit smaller, being only the height of perhaps two or three men, and it only took the work of two men to open them. They were dressed, she noted, in identical black uniforms. The doors were painted bright red, and did not seem to be so heavy, which made her guess that they were only wooden and not solid metal as the outer doors were.

As soon as they passed through the red doors she breathed a sigh of relief, for the inner chamber was much warmer than the outside and the floor beneath her feet was some sort of polished stone rather than frozen dirt and rocks. Then men leading her did not slow their steps, however, and she was led down a few complex corridors for a few minutes longer.

Eventually they halted in front of a third pair of tall doors which were swung open by the work of only a single man, who was not only very tall and strong-looking, but also heavily armed. He grinned toward Hikari, showing a set of mismatched, crooked teeth, and his dark eyes glinted in the light of the torches on either side of the doorway.

"The master waits," he said cheerfully, and pushed the doors open. A sharp tug on each arm pulled Hikari into the room, and then she felt the pressure upon her arms release and she sank down to the floor, her legs unwilling to stand up on their own. After a moment she heard a quiet thud on the ground a short distance away from her and turned to see that Daisuke had indeed followed her and had been deposited beside her. Before either of them could do much more than look at each other, the doors shut behind them with a loud crash.

The room was nearly as grand as the throne room of a palace. The floor was made of shiny, polished marble, and the ceiling towered high above them. The room itself was not so long and narrow as the main hall of the palace in Yagami, but it was easily as tall, and much more ornately decorated. There were three stained glass windows on each side of the room, each of which was framed with heavy, dark red drapes tied back with golden-colored cords. Between the windows, torches were mounted to the stone walls. The center of the room was home to a long carpet of the same red color which led the eye down to the center of the room, a tall, solid desk made of dark, rich wood. Behind the desk was a tall chair, and in the chair sat a man.

"Princess," said the man pleasantly, rising to his feet. "How nice of you to come to see me. it's been so very long. Two years now, I believe."

He was a tall, thin man, dressed in black pants, a black shirt, and a black jacket with a dark red lining that almost perfectly matched the curtains in the room. His hair and eyes were also dark, and his skin was so pale that it made the darkness seem even darker.

"Xiao," Hikari mumbled with barely controlled animosity evident in her voice. "It was not my choice. Don't pretend you didn't drag us here."

"I did no dragging whatsoever, princess," he replied in the same pleasant voice. "I merely issued an invitation in the hopes that you might be open once more to negotiations." Smiling pleasantly, he walked down the red carpet until he was standing but a few steps away.

"I was never open to negotiations," she reminded him. "I told you before that I have no interest in selling that which does not belong to me, and I am still not interested."

"Ah. I see," he answered pleasantly. "Well then, I hope you do not mind my using the occasion of your visit as an excuse to conduct a bit of study."

"Study?" she echoed.

"Yes, study," Xiao replied, turning away from Hikari and focusing his eyes toward Daisuke, who was kneeling but a few steps away. Bending over, the well-dressed trader reached forward and placed one pale, thin finger upon his chin and gently lifted his head until Daisuke appeared to be studying the ceiling.

"It's a fascinating piece of magic, you know. I have heard such stories! My one regret is that I have not yet had the chance to see the full extent of its capabilities, as I have not yet seen it in action. I hope you don't mind obliging me."

"I am not the one you should be asking," Hikari replied shortly.

"Ah, I see. Yes, that's right. You're one of those who values the opinion of her subjects, aren't you?" Smiling pleasantly, Xiao rose back to his full height. "Well, I'm sure that he won't mind, either, would you?"

Daisuke appeared to be stunned by the question for a moment, but he quickly recovered. "It doesn't matter to me," he answered. "It's not as though I have to answer to you."

Xiao's smile grew wider, until it was replaced with a full-fledged grin. "I'm so happy you see it my way. I am a man of learning. I simply wish to learn all that I can. At the moment, I would like to learn everything about this spell. I assure you, this will be as pleasant as possible."

Hikari doubted that greatly, and Daisuke didn't look as though he particularly believed the trader's statement either, but he said nothing, and made no resistance when Xiao again crouched down before him and placed one hand upon his neck.

It seemed to Hikari as though he squeezed a bit harder than was necessary, and she wondered if the spell's activation had been so painful when she had done it as it now looked to be. Perhaps it was because Xiao was not the one the spell had to obey that the it was more reluctant to break free of its bindings. Perhaps it was because Daisuke was more reluctant, despite his words, but it seemed to Hikari as though a look of pain passed over his face before the spell escaped and his eyes lost all feeling and emotion.

* * *

They'd been traveling almost since dawn, and now they arrived at the edge of a mountain range. It was noon, the sun high in the sky, and Aquilamon landed on a flat section of a tall, rocky mountain and de-evolved immediately, feeling rather tired.

"Have you lost the trail?" Shijo questioned, having after much whining and begging convinced them that he ought to come along. They had agreed, knowing that he was (contrary to what Daisuke had thought) useful, and also not wishing to leave him with the Healer and the Airdramon in the midst of a strange kingdom, far from home.

"I need to rest a bit," Miyako confessed, brushing some snow off a rock and taking a seat. "The trail is faint and not easy to follow, and it's a bit draining."

"Should I make some food?" he asked. They had traveled light, as was necessary for travel by air, but he had managed to bring a tall thermos of soup that could easily be heated, and a bit of rice and dried fish.

"Maybe some soup," she agreed. "We need to make that last."

Shijo set to work coaxing Agumon to heat the soup a bit, and Miyako shut her eyes and yawned. Ken stood near the edge of the mountain and peered out over the valley below. "I don't think its much farther," he stated. "I can't imagine that there's many people who live in the middle of a mountain range."

"I don't know," Miyako replied without opening her eyes. "Xiao is…he might be the sort of person who would want to."

He turned away from the view and took a few steps away. Then he turned and took a few steps in the opposite direction, all the time with a strange, thoughtful expression on his face.

The soup heated, Shijo poured a bit into a mug and handed it to Miyako, who gratefully sipped at it, allowing the heat to warm her bones. He poured another mug for himself and handed one to Ken, who took it and drank some down while he went on pacing.

"You're making me nervous," Miyako told him, watching out of one eye. "Don't fall."

* * *

Hikari became aware of a distant pain in the back of her head, a faint sort of ache that seemed to come from nowhere and be caused by nothing. It had the effect of momentarily distracting her from what was happening. She blinked a few times and rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand, but the pain remained, distant and vague.

"How very interesting," Xiao remarked, a strangely satisfied grin passing over his face as he stood up once more. "Already I have learned so much, simply from this."

His words, vaguely menacing, made Hikari feel all the more as though she ought to have refused the request rather than leaving the decision to Daisuke. She wondered why he had not refused, and wondered if the spell's mere existence was enough to create far more submission in his personality than was ordinarily present. She had expected that he would reply in the negative, perhaps with some retort such as he would never willingly follow orders from Xiao. Instead, he had responded as though it was something of little interest to him.

Before she could question the trader about the meaning of his words, however, the doors were swung open once more and the two large men who had escorted her in reappeared.

"I don't wish to exhaust you, princess," Xiao explained, waving on arm graciously as though the burly men were servants sent to assist her rather than guards to watch her. "I am certain my study will fair far better once you have taken some rest and nourishment."

One sturdy arm grabbed each of her arms and she found herself hoisted upwards as though she were light as a feather. "And him?" she asked, turning to her head toward Daisuke, who had not moved from his spot on the floor beside her. "Will you give him rest and nourishment too?"

"If it is as you wish, princess, then so shall it be done," he replied elegantly. "As it is you he is bound to, it will be your wishes I shall follow in regards to his well being."

Something about the calm yet formal manner in which he said this convinced Hikari almost at once that he was lying, and she became immediately determined that Daisuke should not leave her sight and that she should, for his own safety, know where he was at every moment. For now, that question was easily answered, but should they be separated, it would be far more difficult. "I want him to stay with me," she stated, hoping that her voice was managing to carry more commanding authority than pleading whimper.

For a brief, almost unnoticeable second, a frown passed over the trader's face and Xiao seemed less than pleased. It was gone almost instantaneously, however, and his placating smile returned. "As you wish," he replied, nodding toward the doorway.

Two more of the large men appeared, and in one fluid, simultaneous motion they hoisted Daisuke to his feet as well. His eyes, still blank and expressionless, made no sign that they were aware of this movement, but remained, as always, half closed and downcast. Briefly, Hikari found that the pain in the back of her head grew stronger, but it almost immediately faded once more to a dull ache.

Xiao had turned his back already and was strolling lazily back toward the desk at the end of the room. He seemed to have lost interest in the presence of his 'visitors'; his mind now on other matters. As the men escorted her out of the room, Hikari glanced back over her shoulders and saw the trader settling into the tall cushioned chair behind his desk, his lips still curved into a vaguely disturbing smile, as though everything had so far gone as he wished. Then, she was pulled through the large doorway and he disappeared behind the walls.

Her mind still whirled, her head still vaguely aching in a way that made thinking clearly difficult. She was hungry, and her stomach was even now tormenting her with the strongest hunger pangs she had ever known, and yet the pain in her head, though lesser, was more disturbing to her. She felt more tired than she would have expected, having spent so much of the journey sleeping, and wondered if the pain in her head was because of that.

Suddenly, the men halted, and Hikari looked up, realizing that she had paid absolutely no attention to where she was being taken. She saw only plain stone walls around her and a gray stone floor beneath her, and no sign of any doors or windows. At first, she was puzzled as to why they had stopped, but then she noted the presence of an elderly woman a few steps away from her.

The woman was dressed in a simple grey dress, her silvery hair pulled back behind her ears. Her eyes were a pale blue which sparkled in the dim light of the hallway. A few lanterns were hung along the walls of the corridor, but did little to illuminate the area. The face of the woman was covered in the lines and wrinkles of old age, but her eyes showed no sign of dullness or exhaustion that sometimes come with the passing of years.

Hikari wondered why they had halted, and wondered who this woman was. The men gave no indication of either fear or respect, but simply stood still and silent as always. The old woman did not speak either, but after a moment stepped forward and peered toward Daisuke as though she was studying him. She placed one hand on the side of his cheek and then used one thumb to gently lift his chin so that she could better see his face. It was similar to the way in which Xiao had studied, so much so that Hikari suspected that she was doing much the same, and yet her movements seemed more gentle, almost caring.

"You're hungry," she said then in a quiet voice, almost a whisper, and then she turned her eyes toward Hikari, who had been simply staring at her the entire time. "As are you."

Astonished by the sudden attention as much as by the woman's actions, Hikari nodded. "Who are you?" she questioned.

Turning her head back toward Daisuke, the woman gently released her hold on him so that his head fell back down once more. It was so long before she answered that Hikari had begun to wonder if she would at all. "I'm a healer," she answered then, and turned away from them both, apparently intending to continue down the hall in the opposite direction. "I'll see to it you get some food."

As though these words had been a dismissal, the men who held her began to walk again, trudging on down the hallway. Hikari turned her head to see the silvery hair of the old woman disappear around the corner at the end of the hallway and felt most puzzled, as much by the woman's manner as her words.

She was so immersed in these thoughts spinning about in her mind that she barely noticed when they reached the end of their journey at a small wooden door. She did not notice that the men removed the chains from her wrists until they clanked against each other loudly in the silence. Then, one of the men who held her reached forward with one arm and pushed the door open, and then she felt a sharp shove at her back and she took a few stumbling steps past the door before her tired legs gave out and she fell to the floor. A moment later, Daisuke followed her, and then door closed with a loud thud.

It was at least not terribly cold now, or dark, for a large fire was burning in a fireplace a short distance away from where she sat on the floor. The room was not large, so the fire made the air comfortably warm. On the wall directly across from the door through which they had entered was a single bed with a single, flat pillow and rather sad looking blanket. There was a wooden chair squeezed into the narrow corner formed between the wall and the foot of the bed, and another sitting along the empty fourth wall.

For a long moment Hikari did nothing, for she didn't know what to do, so much was her mind mulling over recent events. Then she remembered Daisuke, and crawled across the cold stone floor the short distance to him. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, wondering if any part of him could comprehend her words or if she was really only speaking to herself. "I should have told him he couldn't…."

She stopped speaking, breaking off her words because before long she'd be apologizing for everything, for coming north, for not having managed to break the spell, even for being the reason the spell had been placed on him at all. He was right in saying, as he had said any time she had begun to wander down this path of self-blame, that there was no point to blaming herself for things that happened in the past. It was better trying to deal with the present and the future, because one certainly couldn't go back.

At almost the exact same moment that Daisuke took his first gasping breath on his own, Hikari felt the pain in her head suddenly disappear as quickly as it had arrived. At that point, she began to wonder if perhaps her headache and the spell were in someway connected. There had previously been no reason to suspect that they might be, but the way in which the pain had suddenly appeared and disappeared seemed to coincide with the activation of the spell.

"Are you all right?" Daisuke said into the silence of the room, startling her from these confusing thoughts, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Once more, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"I'm fine," she answered. "Are you all right?"

She was quite surprised to find the hug returned with much more intensity than she'd thought possible from him. "I'll be all right."

* * *

"I don't like the look of those clouds," Hawkmon pronounced gravely when they had finished with the soup but not yet moved from the warmth of the fire. "They're a bit menacing, wouldn't you say?"

He was looking northeast, over the range of tall mountains that stretched out beyond the slope on which they camped. Above them were large, dark clouds that looked to be laden with moisture. Had they been further south, or simply not within the mountains, the clouds would likely have carried rain, but the air was cold here, and there was a bite to it that whispered vaguely of snow.

"Just a bit," Agumon replied in a somewhat sarcastic tone, and shivered as a cool burst of wind danced across the ridge they were on. "I'm not looking forward to a winter snowstorm on the side of a mountain. Why don't we climb a bit lower down?"

"I don't know if that would help," Wormmon replied gloomily.

"Well, it might be a bit less windy down there," the dinosaur replied with a shrug.

V-mon had been sleeping since they'd arrived, oblivious to conversation around him. He'd dozed on the flight there, and had shown no interest whatsoever in soup. Now, he cracked one eyelid open and turned his eye in the direction of the clouds. "No time," he mumbled sleepily, and yawned wide. "It'll be here before we can get anywhere. Best thing to do," and he paused here to yawn, "is to find shelter…."

"Shelter where, though?" Wormmon questioned, but the blue digimon had already shut his eye once more and returned to sleep.

"Maybe if there was a cave around somewhere…," Agumon suggested.

"I don't remember seeing any caves when we flew over the mountain," Hawkmon answered thoughtfully. "Although they might have been hidden."

Abruptly, V-mon sat up, both eyes opened now. He looked around him as though he had no idea where he was, and then, apparently oblivious to the confused and worried stares of the other digimon, said, "Where's Tailmon?"

They looked around the area. Agumon, V-mon, Wormmon, and Hawkmon were clustered around the small fire. A short distance away, the side of the mountain jutted up from the ground, towering toward the sky. Shijo was beside the wall of rocks, rummaging through the supplies in his knapsack. He removed a knit cap and placed it on his head, pulling it down over his ears.

A few steps in the opposite direction, closer to the edge of the cliff, Miyako sat, eyes shut in magical concentration, and beyond that, with his feet almost extending off the side of the rocks, Ken stood, staring thoughtfully out at the mountains.

Tailmon was nowhere in sight.

* * *

I'm liking my progress with this story so far. I have a remarkably clear vision for where it's going and what will happen. I'm not quite sure how it will end (if it ever ends) but that's normal and I'm sure it will become clearer as I move on. I hope you all are enjoying it. Thanks for reading!

I hope everyone has a nice holiday, whichever holiday you happen to celebrate. If you don't celebrate anything (bah humbug!), then I wish you an advance happy New Year.


	13. Tasks and Fears

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Thirteen:** Tasks and Fears

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon, _all related characters and money, does not belong to me. The plot, however, does. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

The evening air had the scent of winter, a vague hint of snow, and a bite of cold. As the stars began to blink in the sky above, Takeru pulled his winter hat down over his ears and shivered. No snow had yet fallen, though the storm the previous week had brought along freezing rain and sleet, but it was plain to see that winter would not be long in coming.

He had planned to journey south with the arrival of colder weather, more to ease his mother's fears than anything. Lady Ishida, formerly of Takaishi, born and raised in one of the most southern parts of the kingdom, had never encountered much snow at all, though she had heard tales of vicious blizzards. The stories had frightened her, and even more so now that Takeru had been spending months at a time in Hida. He had promised to return before the snowstorms, but now he hesitated to keep this promise.

Though he had argued, pleaded, and protested, in the end Takeru had to admit that he could not force Hikari to abandon her trip, despite the obvious dangers and risks. He had watched the carriage disappear over the horizon, feeling all the while as though something avoidably horrible was about to take place. From that point on, he had decided to delay his trip home.

It was two years and some months now since Iori had taken up permanent residence in Hida, and a great deal of improvements had occurred since then, both in the village and in the great house. No more did it look as though it might fall down when the strong winter winds blew down from the mountains. Furniture had either been built or salvaged, so that the rooms were no longer empty, cavernous spaces, but warm and inviting places. A large number of the rooms had been set aside for the use of guests, and sometimes when the storms were bad, nearly the entire village of Hida took shelter there.

Though Takeru had no ties to Hida, he had felt an affinity for the place since he'd first magically and mysteriously arrived there through some unknown combination of his own magic and the strength of a powerful crystal. He'd never been able to duplicate the feat of traveling across the kingdom in the blink of an eye, though it was not for lack of trying. Still, he'd made the long trek back to the northern village many times. Ankylomon and Angemon had on several occasions now combined to defend Hida from the attacks caused by rival Airdramon tamers, some of whom had experimented with taming more and more dangerous and unpredictable digimon.

Not far from the rear of the manor house had once stood a dilapidated shed that the Piyomon who served as messengers had made into their home when they'd arrived in Hida. Since arriving two years ago, however, the bird digimon had renovated the shed, first repairing the existing roof, and later completely replacing it, building the new shed even larger. As Takeru entered now, he saw that Piyomon were sitting comfortably in warm nests that stretched all the way up to the new roof. A few of them were sleeping, having recently returned from journeys, and a few of them were flying through the rafters, eager for exercise but not for the cold rain outside, but most were chatting amongst themselves, discussing flying conditions and recent journeys and exchanging war stories.

The Piyomon in charge, easily recognizable because he was slightly larger than the rest of the pink and blue birds, noted Takeru's entrance and perched upon a post that was precisely at eye level. "Good day, sir!" he said cheerfully, raising one wing in salute. "Flying conditions today are less than ideal, but if you've a message to send, we'll be certain to carry it. Mind you, I can't guarantee that it won't get a bit wet."

"Anything come in today?" Takeru wondered.

"Not yet, no," he replied, shaking his head. "The usual daily correspondence has not yet arrived, but that's most likely due to the rain. I know the Piyomon in charge of that today, and he'll get through soon enough, don't worry. There's a bit of a strong wind coming out of the north today, makes it a bit difficult."

"Looks like it's snowing in the mountains," Patamon commented, gesturing with one paw towards the north.

"Might be, might be," the bird agreed. "I'm certainly glad I'm not flying that way today."

"I hope that you won't mind carrying a message south then," Takeru said, holding up a tube of paper he'd prepared. "It's pretty far south…all the way to Takaishi."

"Takaishi you say?" Piyomon echoed in a thoughtful tone. "That's a long way. I'll have to chose one of our long distance digimon to handle that." He turned his head and peered over at a group of Piyomon that were talking together in a group. Sensing his attention, each of the birds turned their heads toward him and waited to be chosen. "You there!"

"Yes sir!" replied the selected Piyomon, saluting and stepping forward. "Where to?"

"Takaishi, if you don't mind," Takeru told him, and was pleased to see that the bird in question nodded cheerfully.

"No problem, no problem! I've always liked that place. It'll be a nice long trip, yes. Who's the message for, sir?"

Glancing briefly upward toward his partner, Takeru answered, "Lady Ishida, please. She should be arriving in Takaishi for the winter any day now, and awaiting this message. I warn you, she won't be pleased at what I've written, so you might want to leave as soon as you've handed it over."

"Yes sir, yes sir," the Piyomon answered, nodding with a knowing sort of expression. "Thanks much for the warning, sir. I'll leave right away."

* * *

As promised, the healer they had seen in the hallway had seen to it that food was delivered, and it was actual food, not simply bland, tasteless gruel. The soup was delicious and hot, perfect not only for soothing long empty stomachs but also for warming half-frozen bodies still dressed in worn night clothes. Feeling altogether much better than she had in the last few days, Hikari set down her bowl and shut her eyes briefly, savoring the feeling of a full belly and the heat of the nearby fire.

"That's better," she said with a sigh.

Daisuke set his own bowl down with a slight frown. He opened his mouth, thinking of saying something, and then shut it again, thinking better of it.

Hikari opened one eye and turned it in his direction. "I know," she said, "things don't look good. We haven't got any idea where we are, we haven't got anything with us…not our partners, not our digivices, not even any clothes."

"Also, no one knows where we are, or even that we're not on the road, or even safely to the capital by now," he added.

Hikari sighed once more and shut the eye she had opened. "That, too," she admitted.

There was silence for a few moments, with nothing but the crackling of the fire filling in the spaces in the room. Distantly, Hikari thought she could hear footsteps, but they were quite far off.

"Maybe," Daisuke said, speaking slowly, "you should just give me…."

"No!" Hikari interrupted before he could finish. "Never."

"If you don't," he began again, but once more was cut off.

"I don't care," she returned forcefully, opening both her eyes now. "I made you a promise. I won't give you to Xiao, I won't give you to anyone. You're not mine to give away like…like a thing. If I agree to his demands…."

"You won't get hurt," Daisuke put in. For a moment, Hikari stared at him in confusion, and then she looked away, studying the floor with some intensity.

"I don't…."

"I know," he assured her. "I appreciate that. However…if you don't…." He hesitated here for such a long moment that Hikari looked back towards him.

"If I don't?" she questioned.

Now he sighed, looking into the dancing flames as he considered how to answer. "If you don't," he continued, "I think Xiao might go so far as to kill you."

Hikari was silent for a long moment.

"It's only a theory. I don't know this for sure," Daisuke continued, feeling some need to end the quiet. "I have a feeling though, that if he killed you, that the spell would not be broken, but transferred."

Still, Hikari said nothing, and didn't seem to see anything around her, either. Daisuke waited, guessing that the news would take some time to sink in. "If that's the case," she said finally, "then why has he not already done so?"

He didn't have an immediate answer to this, and so she went on, "Why didn't he kill me two years ago, if he wants this spell so badly? Why did he send the Igamon to attack us with sleeping potion instead of deadly poison? Why didn't that man simply kill me on the spot instead of bringing us both here?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Maybe he wanted to give you another chance to give in? Maybe he's hesitant to murder the Princess of Yagami, thinking it would start a war." Half-laughing, he said, "I don't think that this spell is worth starting a war over. I'm certainly not."

"Maybe it is," Hikari said with a sigh. "I think wars have been started for stupider reasons." Then, she shook her head. "I can't think tonight. I'm too tired. Perhaps he's speaking the truth, and he only wants to study the spell."

Daisuke's expression betrayed that he didn't think that to be very likely, but he, too, yawned, and so he conceded that sleep would be the best way to pass the time for now.

* * *

The wind from the north certainly was strong, Takeru realized as he left the shelter of the Piyomon shed. He hadn't noticed the direction of it before, but it was a strong gust that buffeted him as he crossed the yard, heading for the rear entrance, and it came from the north. The cold rain was coming down harder now, and he was quite glad that it was not yet snowing.

"Hey," Patamon called over the sound of the pattering rain. "What's that thing?"

"What thing?" Takeru questioned, and lifted his head. In the sky above the roof of the manor, he could see an odd, round object that seemed to be floating in midair. Squinting through the distance, he could not make out what it was. "Want to go up and take a closer look?"

"I'm on it!" his partner replied, and a moment later was airborne, ascending with slight difficulty toward the object. The rain slowed him down somewhat, but Patamon was an experienced flier, and so he climbed steadily into the sky until he was able to make contact with the strange object. Holding one hand over his eyes to shield them from the rain, Takeru squinted into the sky, but was couldn't clearly see the object until Patamon had carried it down to the ground once more.

It appeared, at first glance, to be glowing an odd shade of purple, although after he'd blinked at it Takeru found the color had disappeared entirely, causing him to wonder if he'd imagined it. It wasn't until he'd studied it for a moment or two that he realized that the object was a construction of pure magic. It appeared to be a round ball made of some clear substance, with a bit of paper folded into a square in the center.

"It's a message," Patamon determined easily, having once more perched upon his partner's head. "Sort of a strange way to send a message, though. I wonder who it's for."

"So do I," Takeru agreed, and then shrugged. "I suppose we ought to let it get on to its destination, right?" He released the object from his hand, and it hovered in midair, but did not speed away as he had expected it to. "Well?"

"It doesn't seem to want to go," Patamon noted.

"I hope I didn't somehow interfere with the spell cast on it. I'd hate to be the cause of some important message not getting through." He watched it for a moment, but the transparent ball made no sign of movement. "Maybe Koushiro would know what to do with it."

He reached out once more, this time grasping the ball with both hands. As he did, he became aware that the rain suddenly became stronger, the wind became lesser, and the transparent substance disappeared as quickly as a popping soap bubble, leaving a small, folded bit of paper in his hands.

"Oh, terrific," Takeru muttered over the sound of the rain, and closed his fingers around the paper to protect it from the water. "Now I've definitely ruined it."

* * *

Koushiro, like Takeru, had not made Hida his official and permanent residence, but he spent quite a bit of time there, preferring the quiet of the northern village to the hustle and bustle of the palace. Unlike Takeru, he preferred to spend the winter months in the north, when there was less chance of strife between the tribes, and was often involved in tracking and observing the weather patterns.

He had only arrived a few days before, having been delayed briefly in the city of Kido, where he had been meeting with some other wizards and purchasing some heavy magical volumes that he amazingly did not already have in his possession. Thus, he was still involved in the task of organizing his books and other trinkets when Takeru stepped through the open doorway, a rather distressed expression on his face.

Organizing is a subjective term, quite dependent upon the person who is doing the organizing. To most people, no place that Koushiro had ever occupied was organized, but the books and beakers and potions and such were arranged in a manner that was most useful for the wizard's purposes, even if no other sane person could make sense of his system. The room that he had made his own was therefore by anyone's definition other than his own a mess.

"I need your help, Koushiro," Takeru said into the cluttered space; the wizard not being immediately visible to his eyes.

Stepping from behind a pile of books that completely covered the top of an ancient desk, the wizard said, "Oh, still here? I thought you'd have left and gone south by now."

"As any wise person would do," Tentomon mumbled sleepily from his perch atop a bookshelf in the corner.

"I've decided to delay that a bit," Takeru answered, not wanting to go into a full and complex explanation of his reasons for this decision. "I need your help. I accidentally intercepted a magical message, and I want to send it on its way again."

"A magical message?" the wizard questioned, interested enough in this new topic to forget about his previous question. "How did you manage to intercept a magical message?"

"I did," Patamon replied, and briefly told the tale of how he had flown into the air and grabbed hold of an oddly glowing ball.

"I tried to let it go, but it didn't move," Takeru explained, "and then the outer part disappeared, and there was only this." He held up the folded piece of paper that had been left over.

Koushiro raised one eyebrow, and Takeru briefly had the impression that the wizard found the entire thing amusing. "If you had ever paid attention when I speak," he told him, "you might already have the answer to your own question."

When this elicited nothing more than a blank expression, the wizard sighed. "There's only one way to find out who the rightful recipient is," he explained. "Read it."

"I can't read someone else's mail!" Takeru protested.

Koushiro had already disappeared behind the stack of volumes once more, and his voice sounded muffled and distant when he replied, "How else will you know who should receive it?" he questioned.

"Yes, well…," he said then, stumbling slightly over his words. "I guess you're right."

"So open it already," the wizard said, emerging from behind the stack of books with a small pile of volumes in his arms. He carried these to the bookshelves and set them in the nearest empty spot.

Carefully, still feeling as though he was doing something wrong, Takeru unfolded the paper and saw that it was covered with neatly though hurriedly written words. He moved his eyes upwards and was completely surprised to discover that the name at the top of the letter was his own.

"I don't know how you wouldn't figure this out on your own," Koushiro was mumbling from behind the stack of books. "The spell would only have allowed the letter to be read if you were the intended recipient. Unless it was sent by an inexperienced, lazy wizard, which I doubt it was, as I doubt you know many of those, she would have taken care to see that no one else would receive it in error."

"She?" Tentomon questioned curiously. "How do you know it's a she?"

"How many people does he know that might send him a letter by magical means?" his partner replied. "Not too many. I would guess that Miyako sent that, although I can't say why she would have used that method rather than a Piyomon."

"She didn't have a Piyomon available," Takeru replied, having finished reading the letter while the wizard was speaking (thus once more not paying any attention to Koushiro). "I think I'd better go north after all."

* * *

"I'm quite pleased you decided to join me, princess," said the voice of Xiao, and a moment later the man himself emerged into the small room. "I do hope you enjoyed your rest." 

It was early morning, and, having been awakened early, put once more into chains and dragged down to a small, empty room hidden behind a heavy door, Hikari didn't feel as though she had anything pleasant to say in return. She had not been invited to this place, and she had not much enjoyed her rest the previous night, since it had been too short and she had been too concerned about what might happen next. Thus, she said nothing, but merely fixed her most unpleasant stare upon the man before her.

Smiling in his usual disturbing manner, Xiao took no note of her silence. "I'm pleased to see it. Ah, I see you are unhappy with me. I know, I have broken my agreement to you. I know," and here he waved one hand in a gesture of dismissive acknowledgement, "I promised that I would follow your wishes regarding the treatment of your slave, and you did wish that he might stay with you. For this part of the study, however, I'm afraid that will not be possible."

"Where is he?"

"But a few rooms away, princess," he replied smoothly, ignoring the barely concealed note of anger in her voice. "I assure you that today he will not be harmed by me."

The door opened and shut then, and Hikari noted that the men who had brought her had disappeared. She became very much aware that there was no one else in the room but her and Xiao. He took a step closer to her, and his expression changed then to a serious one, rather than the actor's mask he had been wearing.

"I want to take this moment once more to ask you to reconsider my offer," he said then, and there was no hint of teasing in his voice, no half-smirk on his face. "It was a very generous offer that I gave you two years ago, and I repeat that offer now. It would be in your best interests."

"I told you," Hikari replied, turning her head away from him, "I won't sell what does not belong to me." She felt his fingers, thin and cold, take hold of her chin, and turn her head back to face him.

His eyes, dark and cold, flashed briefly with anger and then with something else she could not easily identify. "Then make it a gift," he suggested, and then grinned.

She took a step backward, twisting her head sharply to break free of him. He stepped forward once more, this time his bony fingers latching on to one arm and pulling her closer, towards him. "It would be in your best interests, in his best interests, and in the best interests of your people, would it not?"

"It would be in my best interests to leave this place and take him with me," Hikari replied. "It would be best to set him free, not leave him to you."

"Then, why haven't you done so?" Xiao questioned. "Could it be that you have some other need to keep him close to you? Could it be that you, like me, find the idea of one who obeys your every whim and desire without question to be…appealing?"

"No!" she answered, stepping backwards only to find that his hand still gripped her arm and prevented her from putting distance between them. "I don't know how to break the spell, otherwise I would have done it a long time ago."

"Is that the real answer?" he wondered, and stepped forward, causing her to step backward. "Or is that only the one you tell him?"

"It's the real answer," she returned immediately, stepping back once more as he took another step forward. "It's the truth."

Xiao was silent a long moment, and he looked down toward the ground. He released his grip upon her arm and took hold of one of her hands in his own. "It could be," he said agreeably, "or it could be that you are lying to yourself as well as to him."

"I'm lying to no one," Hikari answered. She pulled her hand back.

He shrugged. "As you wish," he replied, smiling mischievously, and grabbed hold of both her hands, squeezing them tightly so that it was impossible to pull them away once more. "It may be that soon enough you will come to admit to the lies you tell yourself."

"I haven't told any lies."

"It may take time," he conceded, and reached above her with his free arm. Hikari heard a clanking sort of noise, and saw, when she looked upward, that there was a chain descending from the ceiling directly above her. "It may take a great deal of time," he went on, now using the hand which held on to her hands to lift them upward, "and it may take but a few hours." Though Hikari took a step backward, she was unable to break free of his grip, and she found that the chain was now securely connected to the one which bound her wrists.


	14. Testing

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Fourteen: **Testing

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie: **_Digimon_, all related characters and whatnot, does not belong to me. Plot, however, does. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

**Additional Note:** Although this chapter is mild and innocent by many people's standards (including my own), it is a bit darker than what I usually write. Consider this your (probably unnecessary) warning. Thank you, and (please) enjoy.

* * *

Miyako, Ken, and Shijo had passed the dark, cold night on the side of the mountain, the young mage being too tired to continue traveling after spending some time searching for a magical trail and then sending a message southward. In the morning, she awoke feeling stiff and tired with a vague sort of aching in her head. The air was a biting cold, and the hastily-constructed tent was mostly buried in the pile of snow that had fallen during the night.

The sun was poking in through a small hole in the tent that happened to be positioned directly over her right eye, so that upon first awakening Miyako could see little but bright sunlight. She rolled over and pulled the too-thin blanket up to her chin, curling into a ball. A short distance away, she noted two more abandoned blankets in heaps on the ground where Shijo and Ken had slept and awakened. Beneath one of them was a small lump that was lightly vibrating with the sound of snoring, and beneath the other she could see a thin white tail poking out. Hawkmon was nestled in the folds of the blanket at her feet, awake but uninterested in moving.

Reluctantly, Miyako sat up, briefly feeling the ache in her head intensify and then fade. She yawned widely and shivered in the cold. "We'll have to get up eventually," she said to anyone who might be listening. "It might as well be now, since I don't think it'll get any warmer."

"Can't get any colder," V-mon muttered crossly from beneath the blanket. The lump that was him moved about a bit and then his head poked out into the air. "Oh, yes it can," he said, contradicting himself, and pulled himself back under.

"It'll be warmer once you move a bit," Miyako said optimistically. "We can't stay on the side of this mountain forever, and we can't leave it until we get out of bed. So…."

With that, she pushed back the covers, feeling grateful to herself for not bothering to undress. She would not have relished changing clothes in the cold air, and praised herself for having decided to wear her warmest clothing on this journey. Quickly, she pulled on her boots, no easy task being that she had decided to wear three pairs of stockings, and then an extra sweater over the one she had slept in. A pair of warm gloves, a scarf, and the warmest cloak she had ever owned completed the outfit. She wasn't quite _warm_, but she wasn't frozen, either, and that was better than nothing.

"Come on now," she said gently, and pushed back the blanket that V-mon was hiding beneath. He let out a little cry at the burst of cold, but she cautiously picked him up and set him down atop the blanket. "You can't stay in bed all day."

"Why not?" he mumbled crossly. Miyako found an extra scarf from within the small bag of clothing she had brought with her, and wrapped it around his head so that at least his ears might be warmer.

"Well, because you'll get buried if it snows again," she explained, "and then you'll never find Daisuke."

The only response V-mon had to this was a disgruntled "hmph," but he didn't disagree with her, and adjusted the scarf around his neck more to his liking. Laughing silently to herself, for in that instant he had seemed much like his partner, Miyako decided this would be the best she could hope for.

She glanced toward Tailmon, but the feline digimon had already extracted herself from the blankets and was yawning and stretching in the cold, open air. "I hope someone made breakfast," she said. "I'm hungry."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Iori questioned, looking toward the border mountains of the north with some hesitation. "It wouldn't hurt to have another person along."

"No," Takeru replied, checking to make certain the buttons of his warm winter coat were securely fastened. "I think it's better if you stay here, Iori."

"And you don't want me to send word south to the King?" he went on, the tone of his voice sounding as though he disapproved of this idea.

"I don't think so, not yet," he answered. "Miyako didn't seem to think that was a good idea, so I don't either."

Iori sighed. "He's not going to like that."

"There's nothing to not like if he doesn't know about it," Armadimon noted. Curiously, this knowledge did not make Iori one bit happier.

"Do you think he won't know something's happened?" Iori returned rather sharply. "He'll know. He'll guess that something's happened to his sister, and if…no, _when_ he figures out that you and I knew something about it and didn't _tell_ him…."

Takeru was shaking his head, and now he said, "He's not going to find out, Iori." When this statement was met with a disbelieving expression, he changed tactics. "If Taichi knew his sister was in danger, what would he do, Iori? He would come north himself, or he would send an army after her. That would start a war, and it wouldn't do anything to help Hikari. In fact it would probably make things worse."

"And what would you do?" Iori retorted. "You'd go after her yourself. You are!"

"I'm not saying that's not what he _should_ do," Takeru answered. "I'm only saying that it wouldn't help things."

"I think," Iori said after a moment of calming himself, "that he will know the princess is in danger long before anyone tells him. I would not be surprised if he knows already."

"Well, if he knows, then there's no need to tell him, is there?" Takeru answered. "I'll handle this, Iori. I promise."

* * *

"I will try to make this as pleasant as possible for all of us," Xiao went on, stepping back from her. "Despite what you may think, I am not one who enjoys seeing others in pain. In fact, to see you in pain would greatly upset me."

"In that case, let me go," Hikari replied. "Being far from you, I'm sure, will not cause me any pain."

He seemed to find this amusing, for his smirk grew wider. "I'm afraid that will not be possible," he said.

There was a loud creak now, and Hikari realized that the door behind her was opening. Two large, burly men like the ones who had brought her to the room entered. One was carrying a long, thin pole in one hand, and when she turned to see more clearly, Hikari saw that it appeared to be glowing slightly.

Though neither man nor Xiao spoke, they seemed to understand what he wanted them to do. The one carrying the pole handed it to Xiao and then stepped back, placing his large body in front of the door.

The second man crossed the room and stood beside a large handle that protruded from the wall. He gripped hold of the lever and pulled down on it, and the sound of chains clanking could be heard. Hikari became aware that the chain connected to the ceiling was growing shorter, so that her arms were being raised up higher. Her feet slowly began to lift off the ground until she could only touch the stone beneath her bare feet with the very tips of her toes.

"This seems perfect," Xiao said then, all trace of humor gone from his voice and his face. He stepped forward once more, taking the pole he carried with him. "I apologize in advance for the discomfort I will surely cause you at this time. You have chosen, however, to make things difficult."

"I chose nothing," Hikari returned, choosing at that moment to ignore the fear that was spinning around in her stomach. "You brought me here and gave me an option I can not take."

"And that, in itself, was a choice," the trader answered with a sigh. "I shall endeavor to make this as easy as possible. We shall begin at the beginning."

The pole _was_ glowing, she realized, and it was not simply some trick of the light, but magic, or so she guessed, for what else could make an object glow? She watched as he moved the pole around for a few moments in some odd pattern that made the glowing grow brighter. Then the pole made contact with the bare skin of her right foot.

For a brief moment, it was simply that, a pole tapping the side of her foot, and she felt only the cool metal on her skin. Then the moment passed, however, and the metal was hotter than hot, and there was a burning, stinging sensation that bit through the skin and traveled upward so that her entire leg felt as though it were on fire.

Hikari bit her lower lip hard, determined that she would not cry, and felt tears welling up in her eyes. The pain grew more intense with every passing moment, and then, exactly at the point that she felt she could not hold on any longer and would have to give in and scream, the pain suddenly disappeared. Her leg, while no longer without pain, now felt only slightly sore, though the point where the metal had actually connected with her foot still stung slightly. She blinked rapidly, clearing her eyes, and found that she was breathing heavily.

"Why…," she managed to say aloud, and her voice was a pained gasping whisper. "Why are you doing this?"

Xiao was grinning now, despite what he had said earlier. "Come now," he said, "you haven't figured that out? This is part of my study."

He was twirling the pole once again, and it was glowing brighter and brighter with each rotation. Then he halted it, and placed the glowing tip up against her stomach.

This time, Hikari felt no momentary cool metallic touch, for the tattered fabric of her nightgown interfered with it. It still took a moment, however, before she began to feel the stinging pain sensation, and then it spread more quickly.

At first it was simply an outer pain, so that it felt as though her skin was burning, but then it began to move inward, so that her stomach began to churn and she felt nausea spin within her. The pain traveled upward now, so that her chest was burning and she wondered if her heart might stop. It was a stronger sort of pain now, and she could feel the tears on the side of her cheeks before she knew it, and was unable to even attempt to halt them. She was more concerned with keeping what little was in her stomach within her stomach.

It seemed as though the pain went on longer this time, although she couldn't be certain of that. Eventually, it did stop, though. If the chains had not been holding her up, Hikari would have liked much to curl into a ball and wait for the nausea to pass. She longed for a bit of water, but didn't wish to give Xiao the satisfaction of asking for it.

"What…," she said instead, "are you…studying?"

He was still grinning while he spun the pole around. "Many things," he replied vaguely. "The extent of the connection, the effect of pain. Perhaps," he added, pausing a moment in thought, "the extent of your loyalty."

Perhaps it was because her head was spinning slightly, but Hikari wasn't quite certain she understood what he was saying. Before she had a moment to think about it, however, the cool metal of the pole made contact with her left ear, and she felt the pain explode in her head.

* * *

The room was empty of all but dust. Quite some time had passed, possibly an hour or more, and nothing had happened. He had expected something to happen, being that he had been awakened quite early, brought to this room, and placed in the center with his arms securely chained above him. He had expected that at any moment, someone would enter, and something would happen. His mind had spun for a great deal of time, imagining the multitude of things, mostly painful, which might happen, but nothing had.

And so he had stood, feeling tired and hungry, in the center of the room until his muscles had begun to ache and he was very near to falling asleep standing up. This was not any of the things he had imagined would happen to him. This was nothing. He had could not remember ever having fallen asleep standing up, but there was a first time for everything, and so he discovered to his surprised that his eyelids were drooping and he was near to doing so when the heavy door creaked open.

He thought, sleepily, that he should make an effort to appear awake, maybe to stand up a little straighter, but then decided against it. He saw with only one eye open that the person who entered was an elderly woman with silvery gray hair. She looked vaguely familiar to him, though he wasn't quite certain from where, being as he was half-asleep. He forced his other eye open and lifted his head.

"Who are you?" he asked when she did not speak but only stood still, looking at him. "What do you want?"

"I'm a healer," she answered simply, and with those words he recalled the vague memory of the evening before, when he had seen this same woman in the hallway. "I have come to see if you need healing."

"Why...?" Daisuke questioned, confused. "Don't you work for Xiao?"

"In a way, yes," the woman replied, stepping forward. "In a way, no. Do you feel pain?"

"Do you mean now?" he wondered, "or in general?"

"Both."

"At the moment," he began, and was about to say 'no,' until a sudden, inexplicable pain exploded in the back of his head, so intense that he began to see spots before his eyes.

"At the moment, yes?" the woman questioned, and he managed to nod, though this only made the pain worse.

His head began to spin, his vision blurring before his eyes. He felt as though someone had hit him with something on the back of the head in an attempt to knock him out. This had, in fact, happened to him once before, and upon awakening he had felt much the same as he did now. There was no one else in the room save himself and the healer, however, and so unless she had somehow used magic to harm him, he could not understand where the pain had come from. He could not imagine that a woman who called herself a healer would cause him such pain.

After a few moments, however, the pain suddenly stopped, disappearing as suddenly as it had arrived. His vision cleared and the room once more stood still. The pain receded until it was only a dull ache centered around his left ear. "What…," he began, speaking hesitantly, fearful that pain would suddenly assault him once more, "what was that?"

The healer stepped forward, placing one hand on the lowermost part of his left ear. In that instant, the pain briefly flared, and then dissipated once more. "I see," she mumbled absently, pulling her hand away. "And here?"

She lowered her hand then and placed it upon his stomach. Once more, Daisuke felt a brief flaring of pain, though nowhere near the intensity of that which he had felt in his head. Again, it dissipated quickly, and then, to his surprise, the woman knelt down on the ground and looked closely at his right foot.

"What are you doing?" he asked. She placed one hand on his foot and he again felt a brief burst of pain. He pulled his leg back from her then, for it seemed as though she was causing this pain.

"The connection is strong," the healer said then, still appearing to be speaking mostly to herself. Then, she turned toward him, rising to her feet once more. "Tell me, where is it concentrated?"

He stared at her blankly for a moment. "What?" he finally said, feeling more confused than ever. "Where is what concentrated? Where did that pain come from? Did you….?"

"Quiet," she interrupted before he could continue asking questions. She lifted one hand and placed it on his chin. Daisuke felt an odd warming sensation travel through his skin and down into his throat, and then the words vanished from his mouth and he found he could make no sounds. "I can see that it's better if I find the answers myself."

She placed one hand on his forehead, and he flinched, expecting a new pain to begin at that spot. It was only the cool feeling of the healer's palm that he felt, however, and no pain. "I see," she said then, and stepped backward, looking toward Daisuke with the expression of one who has found an interesting painting to study.

He thought to ask her for further explanations, but when he opened his mouth, Daisuke found that he could still make no sounds.

"I don't want to do this," the healer said then, stepping forward once more. "I'm afraid I don't have much of a choice, though. You can understand that, right? Not having a choice." She reached toward his neck with one hand. Guessing at her intentions, Daisuke took a step backward, stretching the chains that bound his arms to the limit. With an apologetic expression on her face, the healer reached out and placed one hand upon his neck, thus activating the spell.

It was not so painful an experience as when Xiao had done so, he discovered with some relief. Instead, perhaps because she was a healer, he felt the bindings around his neck tighten quite slowly and hesitantly, as though they were reluctant to escape. Then the rest of the bindings escaped from their constraints, and spread out across the rest of his body, at each point poking through the skin with tiny pinpricks and gripping hold of him. Though he briefly, as always, struggled against this, it was completely pointless, for he had no magical abilities of his own to fight with.

"And now," the healer said with a regretful tone, "I must go."

* * *

Around noon, Aquilamon once more landed on the ground. This time, he set down in the valley between the mountains. Once, green grass had grown here, but now, with fluffy white flakes steadily falling from the sky, it was beginning to be obscured. Aquilamon had been slowed by the weight of the snow falling on his wings, and so they'd decided it might be best to walk.

Shijo had been studying one of the many maps they'd obtained at Hida for the purposes of traveling northward, but it was difficult to really determine where they were because of how they were traveling. Most journeys were made either on foot or by some sort of cart or carriage pulled by Monochromon. In the air, however, they could travel much farther in a day than a person walking or a cart driving could manage. Thus, it was difficult to tell how far they were from the border or the capital because such distances were measured by how many days it took to drive or walk, not how long it might take to fly.

Miyako had been unconcerned with maps. She had been attempting to follow the trail made of Hikari's magic and the dark magic that surrounded the Igamon, but it was a faint one, at least a day old by now, and the snow and the mountains interfered with her ability to concentrate.

They set down in the light snow, Hawkmon immediately de-evolving as soon as everyone had disembarked. V-mon had taken to riding in the bag Shijo carried on his back, and he opened one eye briefly as the boy climbed down from the large bird digimon, but then shut his eyes once more and resumed his nap. Tailmon climbed down on her own, but yawned wide as soon as she hit the ground, and appeared to be quite interested in returning to sleep as soon as possible.

"I think," Wormmon whispered to his partner from his perch upon his shoulder, "that we might want to hurry, if we can."

Ken nodded silently. He didn't need to be reminded of how dangerous it was to be separated from one's partner for too long. It was common knowledge that it would be bad for both the digimon and the human, and if this involved one of the Chosen, it might have far worse consequences.

"It's no good," Miyako muttered under her breath, sitting down abruptly in the snow. "I can't sense Hikari at all, she's too far away now, and these mountains…." She threw up her hands in a gesture of frustration and rubbed at her eyes with the palms of her hands, moaning slightly.

"Mountains interfere with magic?" Shijo questioned.

"Not so much, unless they're of a certain sort of rock," Ken replied, since Miyako didn't seem to be much in the mood for conversation. "They do interfere with her ability to sense distances, though."

"It's still too far," Tailmon replied, yawning a wide yawn that interrupted her words. "We're too far away…."

"I'm beginning to get a headache trying to figure it all out," Miyako grumbled. "We could walk around in this valley for days and never be another step closer to where they are."

"Maybe if we had some idea of where Xiao might be," Ken said quietly, thinking aloud. "It might be worth it to try to find someone who knows."

"There's no place on any of these maps that I can see named Xiao," Shijo reported. "The writing is old, though, and a little different from what I'm used to reading, so I might be wrong."

"It could also be that the place he lives is not the place that bears his name," Agumon reminded his partner, who shrugged.

"It was something to start with, anyway," the boy replied, still nose-deep in the large piece of paper.

"For now, perhaps we ought to rest," Hawkmon suggested, noticing Miyako's frustrated exhaustion. "Maybe some tea would help to clear your head."

"It couldn't hurt," she admitted, sighing, pulling her hands away from her eyes once more. "The snow is cold."

"It should be a quick cup of tea," Tailmon mumbled sleepily, having found a place to nap on the heavy bag Miyako had set down in the snow. "If we stay too long in the snow, we might freeze."


	15. Gone

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Fifteen:** Gone

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_ is not mine, but this plot _is_. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

It was early morning when Hikari awoke, having spent the night on the cold stone floor. She had not been aware of windows in the room, but with the bright sunlight streaming in, she realized that there were a few tiny slits up near the ceiling, through which the small room was now lit.

She felt sore all over, every muscle in her body crying out in pain. There was a spot behind her left ear that burned intensely, so much so that she wondered if the skin was beginning to fall off, and there was a dull pain that seemed to be emanating from the center of her forehead.

Hikari had no memory of falling asleep, of losing consciousness, of the chain being released, allowing her to fall to the ground where she now lay, but obviously that must have happened. The shackles still bound her wrists, and the cold metal made her skin groan, but this was the least of her worries. She felt as though she were covered in a layer of dust and grime and sweat that stuck to her skin and made her hair feel greasy and unpleasant.

Reluctant though she was to move, she was also unwilling to spend another moment on the hard floor, and so she slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position. Her arms, achy from having spent hours chained above her head, moaned in exhaustion from the work, and her back, similarly strained, also protested. She coughed a few times, her throat feeling dry and scratchy from the dust.

_This pain in my head_, she thought, and placed two fingers at the spot where it hurt, directly above and between her eyes. _I felt this before…while the spell was active. Does this mean it is again?_

Acting solely upon instinct and theory, Hikari summoned a bit of her own magic and channeled it through her fingers, into the spot where the pain seemed to be concentrated. Almost immediately, she felt a lessening of the pain's intensity, and then she became aware of the connection of the spell as she never had before.

Had she been required to describe the experience in words, Hikari would have had difficulty doing so, for it was like nothing she had ever experienced before. She had, of course, experienced an almost magical connection with Tailmon, but that was more instinctual than anything. Her partner knew, simply _knew_ things about Hikari that were difficult to explain, and in the same way Hikari _knew_ things about Tailmon that, if asked, she could not explain how she had obtained that information. She _knew_ that at that moment her partner was safe, warm, and sleeping, but there was no way of explaining how she knew that.

Once before, when Daisuke had been in danger, when the Igamon had attacked him and she had feared for his safety, she had simply and instinctually _known_ what she had to do, that he was in danger. He, too, had seemed to sense what she had wanted, remaining still so that the arrow she fired had less risk of accidentally hitting him.

This occasion was completely different from either of those things, for Hikari was now, for the first time, completely exploring the connection between them, and now the spell was fully active, so that the connection was complete and whole.

Daisuke, too, was half-awake, and now Hikari realized the reason for the headache was that he had been fighting the spell's effects. She hadn't thought such a thing was possible, and likely it wasn't doing any good, but he _was_ fighting against the connection. As though sensing her presence in the back of his mind, she felt him suddenly stop this fighting, the pain completely disappearing. Though this offered some relief, Hikari at the same time felt concerned, for if he was fighting the spell, that meant that he was still self-aware enough to do so. If he was not….

He was in pain, she found, and this briefly angered her, for Xiao had said that he would not harm him. She didn't waste time over this anger, however, certain as she was that the trader was probably a habitual liar. She summoned a bit of her magic through the connection – if it had eased her own pain slightly, there was no reason not to help him. Like her own, Daisuke's pain was all encompassing, although there were a few spots in which it was more intense. There was a spot behind his left ear….

Suddenly, Hikari released the magic, removing her fingers from where she had placed them on her forehead. The intensity of the connection faded into memory, and she slowly reached with the same hand to the spot behind her left ear where the skin still felt tender to the touch.

_Could it be? Is _that_ what Xiao was studying?_

* * *

Miyako let her pack drop in the snow, almost throwing it down in frustration. "It's gone," she said.

"Gone?" Hawkmon echoed. "Are you sure?"

"Gone. Completely gone," she replied, and sank down to the ground, ignoring the light dusting of snow around her and the heavy flakes that were drifting down through the air. "I can't sense her at all anymore. Damn."

There was a brief silence which none of the others dared to break, for she seemed quite annoyed. Shijo shuffled his feet in the snow and studied the ground with some intensity.

"Where was the last spot you felt her?" Ken questioned calmly.

"Here," she answered shortly. "This spot."

"Here?" Hawkmon echoed. "After here she disappears?"

"I'm sure the trail goes on," Miyako answered, her anger slowly morphing into dejected depression, "but I can't feel it. It's too old, the magic too faint. It's been too long since she passed by here, and the snow has interfered."

"You can't sense the spell?"

She shook her head. "Not in this place," she answered. "I could try spreading outward, but…." She sighed. "It's too damn faint of a trail, and I'm not good enough of a searcher to follow it. If only I'd come sooner…." Bending her legs beneath her, Miyako set her head on her knees and shut her eyes.

There was a long silence now. Shijo looked between Miyako, who seemed completely defeated and dejected, and Ken who was staring out into the distance without seeing much of anything, and tried to think of something to say or do. Nothing came to mind. Behind him, V-mon shifted in his sleep where he was snoring, perched upon the boy's pack. Shijo glanced down toward Agumon, who shrugged helplessly.

There was suddenly a brief flash of light from nearby and all present turned their heads to see that Tailmon was now Plotmon, having de-evolved. Miyako, having glanced up for a moment at the light, bowed her head again and groaned a frustrated groan.

"Well," Ken said then. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Miyako questioned without lifting her head. Her voice sounded muffled and distant.

"This way," he answered, and now she did lift her head.

"If you tell me that you know – that you've always known – which way to go, I swear I'll…."

She didn't finish the sentence. "Not always," Ken answered in the same calm voice. "I'm not even sure now. But when all other methods fail, it's a good idea to try something as a last resort."

"Why didn't you try this before?" she demanded.

"Your method is much more effective, and proven," he replied, and then shook his head when she started to protest. "I don't completely know, or trust, the extent of this connection you're talking about. I've never had to use it to find him before. If it's our last chance, though, then I'll try it."

Miyako was looking thoughtfully toward Plotmon, who was sleeping contentedly on the bag she had dumped in the snow. "All right," she agreed, shrugging. "Let me know if I can help you."

* * *

"Down there!" Takeru shouted over the sound of the roaring wind, and pointed toward the mountains. "I'm getting something from that direction."

"From this far up?" Li Tan questioned, turning his head back. "I thought that your devices had a limited range."

"They do," he answered, "but I'm getting something. It's faint, but it's something. I say we go down between the mountains, if you can."

"It'll be tough maneuvering," the tamer replied, "but I think we can manage." He leaned over, directing his Airdramon in the correct direction, and Takeru squinted his tired eyes through the foggy haze.

They had flown all night, pausing only briefly to rest, and then risen again with the first sign of light. Though they'd flown above the clouds for the majority of the way, they had recently dropped down beneath the cover to search more clearly. Not for the first time, Takeru wished he had a telescope or some other aid to see the ground below him. The trees looked much like insects from this high up. Every so often, a wild digimon of some sort would come into view as it crossed the empty grasslands, but there was no sign of humans.

Although his first instinct and desire had been to take Patamon and go alone, Takeru had to admit that he valued the aid of Li Tan. The Airdramon was a faster flyer, and they had covered a great deal of space in a very small amount of time. The tamer was also far more familiar with the Northern Kingdom than Takeru had ever been, although he had never before heard the name Xiao nor had any clue where he might be located.

As Miyako had also reported on the death of six Airdramon and their riders, Li Tan had felt obliged to accompany him. Noting the grief in his eyes, Takeru had decided it would be best not to refuse, and so welcomed the company. So far, however, they had seen no sign of the travelers.

"Do you think Miyako's found them?" Patamon questioned of his partner from his perch atop Takeru's head. He was gripping with all four paws as tightly as he could.

"If she can't," Takeru answered, "then they don't have much hope, do they? I hate to think what Xiao might do…." He shivered, mostly from fear rather than the cold air that blew quickly past them.

"I think it's better off not thinking of," Patamon agreed, and squeezed tighter as they dipped lower, the ground now coming much closer at a fast rate of speed. Takeru held on as tightly as he could to the harness that secured him, hoping fervently that the straps would not break suddenly and cause him to tumble toward the ground. Though he was not terribly afraid of heights, it was difficult not to be a bit nervous when speeding along so high up.

"I think I see something!" came the voice of Li Tan's partner, a sensible sort of Lopmon who was completely without a fear of heights. "Down there!" And he struck out with one paw, pointing towards a spot in the middle of two tall mountains, holding on now with the other arm. Takeru marveled at his fearlessness and then turned his head in the direction the digimon pointed.

The ground below them was blanketed with a thin but solid layer of snow, so that anything traveling through the mountains would have left a clear trail in the white powder. As the Airdramon leveled out not much higher above the ground than tree height, Takeru saw what Lopmon had seen; a few sets of human footprints traveling through the snow. "I see it," he called. "Let's follow them!"

"Does the signal get stronger here?" Li Tan questioned, urging the Airdramon in that direction. Takeru looked at his digivice, held tightly in his gloved hand, and saw that a few small dots had appeared on the screen. Over the sound of the wind, it had been difficult to hear it, but now he could more clearly make out the sound of its steady though quiet beeping, alerting him to the presence of some other Chosen.

"It does, and it seems to be leading in the direction these footprints are going," Takeru replied triumphantly. "I think we've found them."

* * *

The water was hot but not too hot, and the feel of it made her tired and sore skin sting with pain. Grateful as she was for a bath, Hikari made only the slightest wince at the sensation, and did not protest too much when the healer pushed her head under the water and scrubbed at her head with a little more intensity than was really necessary.

She had not expected this, and she had been quite surprised when the healer had appeared at the doorway rather than Xiao or one of his silent guardsmen. With a single touch, she had immediately eased most of the more painful soreness that Hikari felt, and, though she had not removed the chains or consented to answer any questions, she had led her to this room and proceeded to bathe her.

When it was finished, when the water had begun to be no longer even warm but cool, the healer held out a large drying cloth and wrapped it around her. Hikari stood, dripping wet but feeling much better than before, in the middle of the room.

"Wait here," said the woman then, gesturing toward the warm fire that burned a few steps away. "I will return."

Even if she had felt enough strength to slip away, Hikari did not feel much inclined to run. She knew that beyond the walls there was likely not much other than wilderness, and cold wilderness at that. She would not know where to go, and she would not willingly leave Daisuke in this place, alone. Then there was the matter of the chains that still held her wrists, and the fact that she was now clad only in a drying cloth, and would thus very soon freeze to death. Thus, she had no option other than to wait, and so walked the short distance to the fire and sat beside it, letting the heat dry most of the water from her skin.

The pain in her head had mostly subsided, though Hikari found that she was still nonetheless aware of Daisuke as she had been before. Every so often, the pain would flare in intensity before dissipating once more, and she wondered then what was happening to him, if he was all right, and if the spell was now being kept active for so long that it might again be eating away at his memories. Her attempts to ask the healer for information had not been responded to, so she had given up asking and simply submitted to the bathing. Inwardly, she was angry at herself, at the healer, and most of all at Xiao, for she _knew_ that Daisuke had not been so taken care of, healed and bathed.

Her stomach grumbled quietly, and she sighed. Neither of them had been given any further food, either.

The door opened once more and the healer returned, carrying something within her arms. She knelt down beside Hikari and reached out, taking her chin in her hand as she had once done with Daisuke in the halls.

"You must understand," the woman said then, and Hikari saw that her pale blue eyes were intense, flashing in the light of the fire. "I will not hurt you. I made a promise."

"A promise?" she echoed.

"I am a healer," she answered simply. "I took a vow long ago that I will cause no harm. I regret," and here she frowned, if only for a moment, "that I have not been able to stop the pain, but I have and will cause none."

"I understand," Hikari answered.

Satisfied with this response, the woman nodded. "I may be asking too much, but I would hope that you might return the favor."

She hesitated only briefly, then nodded. "I won't harm someone who has healed me. I only wonder…why is it that you stay here? What arrangement do you have with Xiao? What hold does he have…?"

"That's a far more complicated question than I can answer at the moment," the healer said with a sigh. "Perhaps later. Give me your hands."

Hikari did so, lifting her arms. "Can I ask…?"

The healer placed one hand upon the chain which bound her wrists, and Hikari saw with some surprise that the shackles opened and fell off uselessly, clanking to the ground.

"I'm afraid his fate is not in my hands," the healer replied with a sigh, obviously sensing what the question would be before Hikari had asked it, and lifted up the garment she had had carried in. "I cannot help him."

"Couldn't I? Can't you let me see him, and I'll help him?" she questioned.

"For me to do so would only bring about more pain for all three of us," the woman replied. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

* * *

They had been walking for two hours now, and Miyako felt as though her feet were going to freeze, even though she'd put on three pairs of stockings under her heavy boots. The rest of her was mostly warm enough, but her feet were cold no matter what she did, and they were beginning to hurt.

The valley was empty, with no sign of life. The digimon that had lived here were all likely hibernating or had taken shelter elsewhere for the harsh winter that they'd surely sensed coming weeks earlier. There was no sign of human habitation or recent travel – no footprints or wagon wheel trails – although those would have been covered by the snow. Miyako could sense nothing of magic anywhere near by, although that might have been more due to her own exhaustion than anything else. Ken seemed to have some sort of clue that the direction they were taking was the right one, for he plodded on tirelessly.

A shadow passed overhead and she glanced up absently, not sure what she might see, not really expecting much of anything. A thin, serpentine body blocked the sun for a moment, and then she became aware of a distant sort of noise, high pitched and repetitive.

"Airdramon?" Hawkmon questioned from his perch on the pack she carried on her back. "What do you suppose?"

"Takeru," Plotmon muttered sleepily, briefly opening one blue eye. "You did call him, right?"

"I did," Miyako recalled, remembering the message she had scribbled and sent south a few days previously. "How on earth did he find us?"

The snow sprayed in the air as the Airdramon landed a short distance away, and Takeru climbed down from the digimon, pushing his scarf out of his face. "Miyako!" he called, and hurried toward them with the energy of one who has not spent the two hours since dawn hiking in the snow.

"I didn't think you'd come," she told him, too surprised by his appearance to make a proper sort of greeting. "How did you find us?"

"Wasn't easy," Li Tan replied, having hustled up behind Takeru. "Have you had any luck?"

"I lost the trail," Miyako replied, shaking her head. "I don't have any clue where they've gone, Takeru, I'm only relying on Ken, and he's not even sure, but that's all we've got to go on."

"I don't understand," Takeru said, glancing briefly toward Ken. "What do you mean?"

"The trail is a few days old now," Ken said in a much calmer voice than Miyako, who seemed to Takeru as though she might burst into tears at any moment. "The snow obscured the trace of the magic."

His eyes grew wide and a bit of color drained from his face. "So you don't have any idea where they are?"

Ken shook his head. "A vague idea," he answered, nodding in the direction they'd been heading, "but not much more."

"Gods," Li Tan mumbled quietly. "No wonder you didn't want to send word south."

Now Miyako turned slightly pale. "Oh Takeru, you didn't?"

"No," he answered immediately. "It's better off if he doesn't know, yet. It'll only make him mad." He frowned, remembering his conversation with Iori before leaving. "I didn't think it would be smart, yet…."

"I'd hate to be the one to tell him," she agreed, and sighed, running one hand through her hair. "I don't know what to do now. I really don't." She glanced back toward Plotmon, who had kept one eye open and was watching the conversation. "And now…."

"Well," Takeru said, mustering the last vestige of optimism he could manage. "At least we know they're alive."

Whatever else might have been said at that moment was interrupted by a brief flash of light, and they turned to Shijo to see that V-mon had become Chibimon now, curled in a ball in the bag the boy carried on his back.

"For now," Ken mumbled darkly, and closed his eyes.

* * *

Hikari had never thought that she might be pleased to see Xiao, but she found that this was the case when the heavy doors parted and she was once more deposited before the trader.

"You made me a promise," she said before he could speak, before the guards had even let go of her arms. "You said he would not be harmed!"

Rising slowly out of the chair behind his desk, Xiao appeared calm and collected as ever, and he did not speak until the guards had left, the doors slamming shut behind them. "I made no such promise," he answered. "I said that he would not be harmed by me, and he was not."

"On your orders then?" she questioned. "I know he was hurt, and I know you activated the spell. I want to see him."

"I gave no such orders," the trader replied smoothly. "I did not guarantee _your _safety, did I, princess?"

"If you had, then you'd be twice a liar."

Feigning great injury at this statement, Xiao placed one hand upon his chest, as though her words had physically injured his heart. "It hurts me that you would think so, princess," he said. "I have never spoken a word to you that was not the truth. _I_," and here his voice became more serious, lowering a bit, "caused _him_ no harm."

"I cannot say," he continued, stepping forward and kneeling down on the carpet beside her, "that I did not intend to cause you harm, or to see the extent of the spell's connection. Nor can I say that I was not hoping for some similar reaction. I can say, however, that I am quite saddened that I had to do so." He reached out one pale-skinned hand, and his thin fingers brushed against her cheek, cold and clammy to the touch. Hikari flinched, pulling back.

"This is a gruesome, sick study you have, Xiao," she told him.

He shrugged, as if to say that some things cannot be helped, and rose to his feet once more. "Perhaps. I have never said that I was a delicate man. I confess that I'm not easily upset by such things."

"I suppose that would help you, in your profession," Hikari said. "Now that you've done your study, you'll let us go."

"Done?" he echoed. "Oh, oh that it were true! Alas, this study will take a few more days, I'm afraid. You will find that I am very thorough when it comes to studying things. I'm quite the intellectual."

"What more is it that you want to know?"

He laughed quietly, as though to some private sort of joke. "Everything."

* * *

It's funny, I always used to think of something clever to say at the end of the chapters, but lately I've thought that it might be best to let them speak for themselves….

I'm really happy with my progress on this story, and I can _almost_ see the ending. Go me.


	16. Three Things To Remember

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Sixteen: **Three Things to Remember

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters and such, does not belong to me. The plot, however, does. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo. 

Moo.

* * *

As the sun was sinking between the mountains, casting huge shadows within the valleys, the group of searchers paused for a rest on the side of one of the tall peaks. The ground here was relatively level, and covered with only a light dusting of snow rather than a heavy blanket. The wind was harsh and cold, but not as strong as it was higher up. 

"I'm afraid I don't see much sign of life," Li Tan said, holding one hand over his eyes as he squinted out over the valley below. "You don't suppose this Xiao person might be underground?"

"Anything's possible," Ken replied, peering in the same direction with a thoughtful expression.

Takeru, feeling exhausted, had collapsed into the snow beside Miyako. "What are the chances," he questioned, breathing heavily, "that we're going in completely the wrong direction?"

There was a long silence. Ken shrugged. "It's possible."

"Let's hope not," Miyako mumbled sleepily. "Let's _hope_ not."

"Have we seen any clues that we are going the right way?" Takeru went on, mostly ignoring both these responses. "Any at all? It could be that they're a week's journey in another direction from here."

"No," Miyako interrupted, opening one eye. "They're in this direction – I sensed that much before the trail faded."

"Are you sure that wasn't a trick?" he questioned.

"It would be a pretty hard trick to pull off," she answered, opening the other eye. "Hikari has a unique sort of magic, and I'm sure I wouldn't confuse her with someone else. Then there's the spell itself, which has a pretty unique feel to it as well."

Takeru fell silent, but got to his feet and looked out over the valley below. He glanced upward briefly toward Patamon, who nodded, and then took off from his perch upon his partner's head and flew off into the air.

"If I had gone with her," he said then, quietly, "would it have made a difference?"

"It might have," Li Tan answered, "and it might not have. You might have ended up dead like the others."

"He's right, Takeru. Xiao has no use for you. You'd either have been killed or taken with them," Miyako put in. "Even then…probably killed."

"Yeah," he admitted quietly. "I guess you're right."

There was a long silence then. A cold wind blew down from above, causing some of the snow that had fallen upon the mountaintop to scatter below, giving the illusion of a fresh snowfall. The bare, empty branches of the trees below clattered in the wind, but there was no other sound. There was no sign of life in the valleys or on the mountainside.

A quiet snore sounded from the pack Shijo carried, and Chibimon rolled over in his sleep.

"This isn't the best place to make camp," Ken said then, turning away from whatever he'd been studying. "It'd probably be a good idea to go back down."

"Slightly less windy," Li Tan agreed, hefting his pack. Takeru peered out in the direction his partner had flown, and then hefted his own and followed the others down the side of the mountain.

* * *

There was the sound of a crackling fire, burning brightly and with great strength, the flames eagerly devouring the wood that had been given to them. The smell of wood smoke filled the air and warmed the otherwise cold, empty space. 

He forced his eyes open, and saw the light of the fire a short distance away. There was a pain right above his eyes, likely caused by staring directly into the flames, and so he shut them both again. This pain, however, only served to remind him of the multitude of pains that covered his entire body.

There was the feel of a damp cloth on his forehead, and though the water was not particularly hot or cold, the sensation was a bit shocking. He opened both eyes and found himself gasping for air.

"Easy, easy," said a voice, and he felt the cloth wiping along the side of his face. "It's all right."

The world was slightly blurry, and a bit dim with only firelight to illuminate it. He blinked a few times before he saw her face come into view more clearly.

"Hikari?"

He sat up, a motion that a few minutes ago had felt impossibly difficult, and felt the pressure of her hands upon his shoulders. "Lie back down," she said. "You're hurt. You should rest."

He shook his head, ignoring the soreness of the muscles that agreed with her statement. "I'm fine," he stated. "Are you - ?"

"Fine?" Hikari echoed, and then she made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a cry. "You're far from fine. Lie down."

It was only with great reluctance that he did, noting the rest of his surroundings as he fell backward once more. It was a small room with not much more than a fireplace. He was not lying in a bed, but on a thin blanket on the stone ground, with the fire only a short distance away.

Standing in front of the doorway, a few steps beyond, was a tall, burly, silent man. He was dressed entirely in black, a red belt tied around his wide waist home to not one but two long swords. His thick arms were folded sternly across his chest, and his face was schooled into a solemn and dangerous expression.

"It's not that bad, really," he said.

"Obviously, you can't see yourself," she told him, shaking her head. "When will you admit that you're in pain? Why won't you?"

Taking the damp cloth in her hand, she dabbed at a spot on his cheek, below his right eye, and he winced, surprised that even this gentle tap caused some pain. "That hurt," he admitted.

Hikari only shook her head once more, sighing. "You're very lucky," she told him, and glanced briefly over her shoulder toward the guard as she dunked the cloth in a bucket of water. When she glanced back toward him, it was with a serious sort of expression, and he understood then that the guard was present, as he'd suspected, in order to listen.

"I know," he answered, and squeezed his eyes shut as she dabbed at a long scratch on his right arm. "Are you?"

"I'm much luckier than you are," she replied, and looked up from her work then. "Daisuke…."

He waited, but she said nothing further – didn't want to say anything further, he guessed, while the guard was there.

She glanced back once more toward the guard as she cleaned the cloth and then moved on to his other arm, moving her whole body so that she now blocked his view of the burly man. "There's something…three things that I want you to remember," she said now, giving a bit more attention than seemed necessary to a small cut near his elbow.

"Remember?" he echoed. "For the future?"

"Exactly," she answered. She placed the cloth upon the tiny scratch and pushed down as though it was bleeding much more than it was, and then leaned forward. "Forgive me," she said then in a quieter voice, hoping not to be overheard, and placed her free hand upon his neck.

He waited, expecting that the spell would once more be activated, but nothing seemed to happen. "I don't…," he said, but Hikari shook her head, interrupting him.

"First," she said, loud enough now that the guard could hear, "remember that you're under no obligation to obey the orders of anyone that the spell doesn't bind you to."

This was an odd thing to remind him of, and he looked toward her with a confused expression. "I…," he began, and then saw something in her eyes that made him to play along with whatever was going on. "I understand," he finally said, though he'd originally planned to say something completely different.

"Second," she went on, "don't give up."

"Give up?" he echoed. "What do you mean?"

She pulled back away from him now, releasing the pressure she'd been putting on his arm as well as the hand she had placed on his neck. "Don't give up," she said again.

"Give up what?"

She considered this as she returned the damp cloth to the bucket, ringing it out a few times. The burly man at the door coughed unobtrusively.

When she didn't answer right away, Daisuke pushed himself once more to a sitting position, aware now that there was slightly less pain than there had been a few moments before. "Give up what?" he asked again.

"Don't give up fighting," Hikari finally answered, turning away from the bucket finally. "Don't stop fighting."

This was an even stranger request than the first one, and so for a long moment, he simply stared at her in confusion, and then recognized some quiet desperation in her eyes. He guessed then that she had seen something, something of the future, and wanted very much to ask what it was that she had seen. The presence of the guard, however, made him keep silent.

"I won't," he said simply instead, and curiously enough this answer pleased her so much that she smiled.

"I know."

There was a long moment of silence. The burly man shuffled his feet, as though to say that the time was nearly up. Hikari sighed, glancing briefly in his direction.

"What's the third thing?" Daisuke questioned then.

"The – third…," she said, oddly enough confused by this, as though she had forgotten what she'd said earlier.

"You said there were three things," he reminded her. "What's the third?"

"Oh," she said, and then spent a few moments studying her hands. "That."

The silence returned. The burly man coughed, interrupting it, and took a step forward, coughing once more, even louder now.

"I need to go," Hikari said then, glancing toward the guard. "I'm sorry…I…."

"What was the third thing?" he asked, confused by her sudden reluctance.

"Oh…well…I…," she mumbled quickly. "This."

And with that, she leaned forward and placed one hand on either side of his face, pulling them closer and closer until they were very close indeed. Then, she leaned even closer and, before Daisuke was at all aware of what was happening, she had kissed him.

* * *

They reached the valley at almost the exact time that the sun disappeared beneath the mountains. Miyako felt an odd pain in the center of her forehead begin at the same time as well, and assumed it was most likely due to exhaustion. It was, at any rate, not a very strong sort of pain, and so she pushed it from her mind for the time being. 

"Takeru!" came the voice of Patamon somewhere in the sky overhead, and, lured by the light of the torches Agumon had lit, the flying digimon was shortly afterward hovering before his partner. "I think I saw something interesting."

"Interesting?" Takeru echoed. "What sort of interesting?"

"It looks," Patamon replied, "like a building carved out of the side of a mountain."

"What sort of building?" Ken questioned, interrupting whatever Takeru might have thought to say in response.

"A big building," Patamon replied. "There's two tall towers on either side of a big door that looks like it's made out of solid stone."

"Is anyone guarding it?" Li Tan wanted to know.

"You have to look really closely," the digimon answered, "but I think I can see people in the towers. Past the door is a little courtyard and then another big door that looks like it leads right into the mountains."

"That sounds like the sort of building that it would be difficult to escape from," Takeru noted. "Sort of like the kind of building where a slave trader might keep his wares."

"Sounds like that exactly," Ken mumbled, a serious sort of frown on his face now.

"Is that where they are?" Miyako asked.

"I don't know for sure," he answered, "but I'd be surprised if they weren't."

"Should we wait until morning?" Li Tan asked. "Should we go now?"

Surprisingly, there was no debate about the answer to this question, and so shortly afterward they set off in the direction Patamon had indicated.

"If they are inside of a mountain," Wormmon said into his partner's ear as they traveled, "how do we get them out?"

"I don't know," he confessed. "I guess we'll figure something out, right?"

* * *

The wind had begun to blow fiercely, scattering the blanket of snow into the air and causing the travelers to pull cloaks tightly around shoulders and bow their heads against the blasts. 

"How do you suppose we'll find anything if we can't see?" Patamon shouted into his partner's ear from his position on Takeru's shoulder. He was holding on for dear life lest he be blown away in the wind (a common occurrence for lightweight flying digimon).

"I don't know," Takeru confessed. Though no fresh snow was falling, the snow scattering in the winds made it difficult enough to see, and the darkness of night meant that it was nearly impossible to tell if he was heading in the right direction. It was far worse than any sandstorm he'd encountered in the desert, thanks to the cold.

The wind momentarily paused, and he took the opportunity to take a deep breath of air. Removing his warm winter hat, Takeru shook the snow from it and then replaced it on his head. He then did the same with his scarf and mittens. "Do you ever get the feeling that the entire universe is against you?" he wondered aloud, shivering.

"Only every minute of every day," Miyako mumbled darkly; her face barely visible in the light of the torch that she now relit. "Are we still going in the right direction?"

"I think so," Patamon said, glancing back the way they'd come and then the way they were headed. He released his hold on his partner's shoulder and flew a short distance into the air so he might survey their position from above. When he landed a moment later, the small digimon nodded.

"The mountain I saw is not much farther that way," he reported, gesturing with one long ear in the direction they were headed. "We'll make it in less than an hour – as long as the wind doesn't blow us off the trail."

"That's a big if," Takeru muttered as he pulled his scarf up to cover his half-frozen face. "Let's keep going then."

Not much longer after that, their patience was rewarded by the sight of a tall mountain. The moon had risen high, making it possible to view some of the landscape around them, and the white snow that blanketed the valley reflected the dim light, making the night much brighter than it usually was.

At first glance it appeared to be not much more than a mountain – one of many that surrounded them. The closer they came however, the more it was possible to see that it was obviously much more than that. Two tall towers, carved out of the mountain itself, stood at either side of a large gate, large enough to be that of a huge palace.

The travelers paused in the snow some distance away, catching their breaths and resting, feeling exhausted after having trekked all day and night through the snow. It was nearing midnight now, and they had been walking since not long after dawn.

"Are they here?" Takeru questioned, glancing toward Miyako. "Do you sense anything?"

"They're here," Ken said with certainty, and then turned toward Miyako as well. "I'm sure of it."

Miyako sighed, half from exhaustion, and rubbed at the spot between her eyes where the same headache had come and gone steadily since sunset. She shut her eyes and spread out her magical awareness, searching for a sign of Hikari's magic, the magic of the spell which bound Daisuke, or the dark magic she knew was somehow related to Xiao, the Igamon, or both.

"It's faint," she said after a long moment of tense silence in which all of the others waited and watched. "The mountain is thick, and its hard to sense anything beyond the walls. It's faint, but I can sense Hikari here. I can sense her, and I can sense the dark magic the Igamon used."

"So this is the place then?" Takeru concluded, turning back toward the mountain-castle.

"I'm sure of it," Miyako answered, opening her eyes. She placed two fingers at the spot on her head that hurt the most, and rubbed at it. "I hate to say it, but I don't know if we'll be able to do much until dawn. I'm so tired my head hurts."

There was a silence as everyone reluctantly considered the wisdom of waiting for the sunrise. Shijo interrupted this with a wide yawn, and, since yawns are contagious, this was shortly followed by everyone else present.

"I suppose," Ken said then, interrupting himself with a yawn of his own, "that we have no choice but to wait for first light."

* * *

Apologies for the long delay in posting lately. Work has been an absolute hell on both ends, and the small amount of free time I've had lately has been spent on improving my previously sad social life and sleeping. 

In addition to that, both this and the upcoming chapter are kind of difficult to write. I've had the idea in my head for months now, and there's a few issues involving which character's perspective to write this through, and the general fear that I won't be able to convey the emotional intensity that I'm really trying to accomplish.

Let me stop before I give away too much. Advance apologies if the next chapter takes another two weeks to post; I'll try not to take _quite_ so long. Hope you're enjoying.


	17. Snow Fall

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Seventeen: **Snow Fall

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie: **_Digimon_, all related characters and merchandise, is not mine. Plot, however lame it is, IS mine. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

The sun had not yet risen over the mountains. A significant amount of snow covered the area, glistening in the starlight, sparkling in the moonlight. Two small tents, hidden against the snow, sat in the middle of an otherwise empty valley. Between them were remains of the previous night's fire. The wood was now lightly dusted with the windblown snow.

One tent flap rustled in the early morning silence, and a small digimon emerged. It was pale pink in color, but with large, bright blue eyes that almost glowed in the darkness. As it stepped out into the snow, it yawned, showing a few small teeth inside its tiny mouth.

For a long moment, the digimon stood and observed the area around it. Its blue eyes focused on the mountain closest to the tents, a mountain which was not simply a mountain but a hidden fortress of a building disguised quite well. As it stared, the digimon narrowed its eyes and frowned.

"Are you really going?" a voice interrupted at that moment, and Plotmon half-jumped in the air at the sound that pierced the silence, then turned to see that Chibimon had emerged from the tent as well.

She nodded. "I'm not going to leave her alone."

If she'd expected an argument, she was surprised, for Chibimon shrugged, taking a few steps forward and sitting down in the snow. "Good luck, then," he said.

"You're not going to come?" she asked. "You're not going to try to stop me?"

He shrugged. "What good would that do?" he asked. "I wouldn't be able to stop you."

"Well…."

"Anyway, I think I'm better off staying with her," he went on, nodding toward the tent behind them. "I have this feeling that's what I should do. Like you have the feeling you should go."

"Yeah," she admitted.

There was a long silence then. A gentle breeze blew a bit of the snow into the air, making it dance in the dim light. Neither digimon said anything, perhaps because the moment was too much for words.

"If I never see you again…," Chibimon began.

"Don't say that," Plotmon scolded. "Don't say that."

He shrugged lightly, as though the matter were of no importance to him. "You never know."

She snorted, finding his reasoning stupid. "Well then, I suppose this is goodbye."

"Yeah," he answered, studying his toes. "Seems that way."

"If they ask about me…," she began.

Again he shrugged. "They'll understand."

She frowned, then sighed. "All right."

And then, she was gone.

* * *

Daisuke was barely aware of having fallen asleep when he heard the heavy door swing open on squeaky hinges, waking him once more. Footsteps sounded on the stone floor.

A thick hand firmly grasped hold of the back of his neck then, hauling him to his feet. Barely awake, Daisuke dimly registered the sensation of pain in his neck, and was only faintly aware of the weight of the chains now being placed on his wrists. A poke in the back made him open his eyes the rest of the way, and he yawned, taking a step forward.

He was surprised to find how unsteady he was upon his feet – something that was only partially a result of having gotten so little sleep. Maybe Hikari was right. Maybe he was far from all right.

Slowly waking more and more with each step, Daisuke noted the long hallways he was passing through, and the tall, quiet man on either side of him. He yawned again, wondering how long the sleepiness would take to fade, wondering where Hikari was at that moment, wondered where he was now being taken.

At the end of the first hallway they paused, and one of the huge guards opened the door before them. Within was another small room, almost identical to the one they had left. It was occupied by a single man.

He was thin, so thin that his ribs were visible through both his skin and the fabric of the thin shirt that he wore. Although not old, he was not young, either, and a bit of grey was sprinkled through the mop of otherwise black hair on his head and the scraggly beard on his chin. Around his neck was what appeared to be a single strand of thread.

Neither of the guards nor the man within the room spoke. The guards took up positions on either side of the door, shutting it behind them, and the man went to a large trunk at the opposite end of the room. When he opened it, Daisuke could see that it was filled with fabrics of different sizes and colors.

* * *

"You could, of course, change your mind," the healer said in a quiet voice. Her pale grey eyes betrayed the fact that even she though this unlikely.

"I have made my decision," Xiao replied. He was dressed, as always, entirely in black, but something about the way the firelight seemed to sparkle in the fabric made it seem as though he was dressed more extravagantly today. At his neck was a scarf of a brilliant red color – it would have been visible from quite some distance away if one were seeking him out. He stood still, allowing two of the burly, silent men who ever guarded him to drape his cloak over his shoulders, and gazed down at Hikari with an imperious expression. "You could change your mind, of course."

She said nothing for a long moment, only stared up at him with an intense expression. "I have made my decision," she said then. "I won't regret it. Will you?"

"I am not easily given to regret," he answered, adjusting his black, warm hat over his ears. "I have carefully considered all possible consequences, but the benefits far outweigh the risks. As for you, I would guess that there are no benefits, which is why I would urge you to reconsider, princess."

"I have reconsidered," Hikari said. "I have been considering and reconsidering this for the last two years, and I have come to a decision I will not regret."

"I would guess," Xiao said smoothly, pulling on a pair of gloves over his long, thin fingers, "that you won't have much opportunity for that."

* * *

"Is that so?" Wormmon was saying, the end of a conversation that had been going on for a few moments now.

Having now gulped down two mugs of hot tea, Miyako found that she did not feel the least bit warmer or the least bit more awake. The headache from the evening before had mostly faded, but the lack of sleep made her feel groggy and disoriented. The news that Plotmon had slipped off before sunrise did not make her pleased. She was certain that it was a sign of something bad to come. It could not be good.

The account Chibimon provided managed to placate the other digimon, but it did not soothe Miyako in the least. She could think of only a few reasons why Plotmon would feel the need to travel onward alone, and none of them were pleasant. All of them essentially brought her to the conclusion that Hikari was in a great deal of danger. Then there was this fact coupled with the fact that Chibimon had not felt the need to leave. Did that mean that somehow Daisuke was in less danger than Hikari? And, if so, what did that mean?

Trying to sort this matter out only made Miyako's head hurt even more. She finished off her mug of tea and got to her feet. "I'm not sitting here any longer," she stated simply. "Let's go."

The outside air was colder than Daisuke had expected. The chill bit at his nose and cheeks. Though the fresh clothes he had been given warded off a great deal of the cold, the temperature was so low that it didn't help quite as much as he would have liked.

The sun was only barely peeking over the edge of the world, but already the bright whiteness of the snow almost blinded him after days in the near-darkness of the interior. He squinted through the sunlight and saw that they had emerged through a small door onto a small ledge that seemed to be on the side of a mountain. Peering outward, he saw not a wide expanse of ground, but sky and only sky, and beyond that, mountaintops.

It seemed to stretch on forever.

Xiao was there already, dressed in his long black cloak, a dark red scarf around his neck. As Daisuke emerged into the sunlight, the trader was peering over the edge of the ledge, down into the abyss below. He turned away now, and a gust of wind caught the edge of his cloak, causing it to billow in the wind.

"Have a look for yourself," he said in a cheerful, friendly sounding voice.

A sharp poke urged Daisuke forward, and he walked, somewhat hesitantly toward the edge of the cliff. Another few steps and he was at the edge, the ground threatening to at any moment disappear beneath his feet. Below, the ground seemed scarcely visible, the early morning fog making the distant valley seem to be on another world. Instinctively, he shuffled his feet backward, only to find that Xiao was standing directly behind him.

"It's a long way down, isn't it?" the trader said, smiling in a way that would make even the most fearless a bit nervous. "I'd hate to fall, wouldn't you?"

Momentary confusion was replaced by a general sort of animosity. "Why did you bring me out here?" Daisuke questioned, deciding that it was best to get to the point. "If you plan to shove me off a cliff, then do it." He took a step towards the edge, but was stopped by a firm grip of one of the guards on his collar.

Xiao was laughing as though he was quite amused. "Gods no," he answered. "You and that spell are far too valuable for that."

There was the sound then of a door opening somewhere behind them, and Daisuke turned his head to see Hikari emerge out on to the cliff's side, led along by two more of the huge guards. She was dressed not as he had expected her to be, but a set of light blue robes that were slightly too large for her, the hem sagging in the snow as she walked. A slightly darker blue knit scarf was wrapped around her neck, and her hands, half-covered by the sleeves that were too long, were bound as his were in the same heavy chains.

She did not seem pleased about being there, but nor did she struggle against the guards beside her. For a moment, she blinked in the brightness of the early morning, squinting through the light as it reflected off the snow. Seeing Daisuke, she gave a brief smile, and then her eyes turned toward Xiao and he could see a defiant sort of anger.

Xiao nodded his head ever so slightly toward Daisuke, and, in response to the unspoken command, strong hands gripped hold of his arms and pulled him back from the edge of the cliff. At almost the same time, the two other guards, led Hikari forward, until she was but a footstep or two away from the trader.

"Will you still be so certain, having seen what awaits?" he questioned, his mouth curved into a smug sort of smile. A gust of strong wind blew against the side of the mountain, sending a bit of the snow into the air and scattering it over the edge of the cliff. Gracefully, he stepped aside, and the guards pushed Hikari forward so that she, too, could see what was beyond.

She showed no sign of fear that Daisuke could see, for which he silently cheered his approval even as his mind frantically considered the scene before him. Why was Xiao showing them this cliff? Was it a threat of some sort that he would soon make good on? Daisuke did not want to think of the possibilities, as every plausible option that ran through his head made his stomach churn.

"Well?" Xiao questioned after a long moment in which Hikari had said nothing and nothing had seemed to happen.

"I haven't changed my mind," she replied shortly. "Get it over with, unless you are afraid."

"What have I to be afraid of?" the trader returned. "One he's mine, he'll be a most reliable witness that the entire incident was an accident." He turned his eyes briefly toward Daisuke.

"What incident?" he questioned. His ears were beginning to buzz, like an insect was hovering behind his head. He wondered if it was the cold causing it. Xiao didn't answer, didn't take his eyes from Hikari, who shut her eyes, apparently also unwilling to answer.

Suddenly, everything seemed to make sense. Xiao had not brought him to this place to shove him off a cliff – but Hikari. Daisuke found that his head suddenly felt a bit lighter than before. Spots appeared in his vision, and he shook his head to clear it. It couldn't be possible, could it?

"You could avoid this all," Xiao went on, still not having taken his eyes from Hikari. "You could simply give him…."

"No," she interrupted, perhaps a little more sharply than originally intended. "I have told you before that I won't, and I will not change my mind. I won't…."

"No," Daisuke interrupted, and he was surprised to find that his voice sounded a bit hoarse when he spoke. "No," he said now, a bit stronger. "You can't do this, either!"

"It's a shame," Xiao went on as though neither had spoken, "that such a brilliant and powerful spell should be wasted. With me, it will achieve full potential. As you had it, it was not being used, and so, what loss will it be to you if you simply give it to me?"

"He's right!" Daisuke put in, surprised that he might be finding himself agreeing with Xiao. Only now did Hikari turn her head entirely to face him, as though she was now hearing him for the first time.

"One way or the other," Xiao continued, "the spell will be mine."

Hikari shook her head. "I will not," she said, and she was talking to Daisuke now, "condemn you to this life. Not willingly."

"Even," he interrupted, "if it means condemning yourself to die?"

"Even then," she answered, "I can't."

He was silent a long moment before he spoke. "Hikari," he said finally, and then shook his head, "Princess," he began again, thinking desperately that it might matter what words he used. "Don't do this. This spell…_I_...not for me."

She smiled now, a completely mystifying reaction. "If not for you," she replied, her voice quiet, "then who?"

* * *

Miyako had taken to the air in the cold air of the early morning, feeling no more awake nor warm than she had when she had climbed into bed the night before. Ken, Takeru, Shijo, and Li Tan also looked almost as tired as they had in the moonlight, and the news of Plotmon departing had only confused and tired them all even more.

The only one who seemed better off this morning was Chibimon. The small blue digimon had been awake only for short periods of time since his de-evolution, as was to be expected being so far from his partner, but today he seemed curiously more awake. On Aquilamon, as they soared through the sky toward the hidden mountain fortress, Chibimon climbed up to the front so he might better view his surroundings rather than curling up into a ball inside a bag as he had been.

"I suppose this is a good sign," Ken muttered from behind Miyako. "It means that we're nearby."

"I suppose," Miyako answered absently. She was peering down below towards the fortress beneath them, her mind partly on that, partly considering Plotmon.

The building certainly was a fortress. Not only had it been built into the side of a mountain, but two different courtyards protected the inner sanctum from outside attack. The inner one was surrounded by a thick wall that appeared difficult to penetrate, and the outer one was an even thicker wall than that, with doors that looked as though they might take the strength of an army of Mammothmon to open.

"I wonder," Wormmon commented at the sight of it, "if Xiao often has reasons to fear invaders. Maybe he often steals slaves."

"Possibly," Ken agreed. "It doesn't seem like something he would have a problem with. Look there."

He put a hand on Miyako's shoulder to get her attention, and then pointed to the right. An upper level of the fortress opened onto a narrow outer courtyard that overlooked the valley below. It appeared to be positioned on the side of the mountain, and from this distance, they could see a group of figures standing in the snow-covered space.

"That might be a good spot to land and make an entrance," Aquilamon suggested, "so long as we wait for those people to go back inside."

"That sounds like a plan," Miyako decided. "For now, let's circle over and wait." She turned and waved to her left, where Li Tan and his Airdramon were carrying Takeru and Shijo. She gestured toward the ledge, and then the Airdramon began to fly close enough so that she could shout.

It seemed as though Takeru could see what Miyako was referring to, for he waved toward the ledge as well. The flying serpent rose higher in the air, planning to move closer toward Aquilamon, and then, suddenly, began to nose-dive directly toward the ledge in question.

"No, wait!" Miyako called after them. "We don't want to attack!"

They were already too far away to be heard, and she watched them go, puzzling over the reason for the sudden dive. Then Chibimon, a short distance in front of her, said, "Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh?" she echoed, and followed the digimon's gaze to see that he was looking toward the ledge. The small group of people now were clustered around the edge of the space, peering down into the long drop below. She let her eyes drop to the space below them, and saw that a single figure was dropping faster than her eyes could follow toward the ground below, a great distance indeed.

"Do you think they'll be able to catch that person?" Miyako wondered, glancing back toward Ken, wondering if he knew anything more than she did about the top speed of an Airdramon.

He frowned deeply. "I don't know," he confessed. "Maybe…."

"Well, I hope so," she decided after a moment of silence. "It seems an awful way to…."

Anything else that she might have said was at the moment cut off by a sudden sharp pain that exploded in the front of her head, directly above her eyes. It was so great, and so sudden, that Miyako let go with both hands and placed them on her forehead in an attempt to halt the pain.

"Are you all right?" Ken asked, having noticed first that she had stopped mid-sentence, and then that she was holding her head with both hands.

"I think," Aquilamon said in a cautious sort of voice, "that I ought to land."

"Are you sure?" Wormmon asked.

"If you're going to, do it quickly," Ken advised, noticing that they were quite far from the ground. "Miyako? Miyako?"

"I…don't know…," she mumbled, and he could see that her eyes looked a bit glassy, as though she was not completely aware of the space around her.

"Ground!" Chibimon shouted. "Now!"

Aquilamon had already begun to head for the ground below, and now he tucked in his wings and sharpened the descent, hurrying. A bit higher up than anyone would have liked, the large bird digimon was suddenly surrounded by a white light, and de-evolved back to Hawkmon.

"Wormmon evolve!" called the small digimon in the midst of it all. "Stingmon!"

Another bright white light flashed in midair, and the green bug digimon took hold of Miyako in one hand and Hawkmon in the other and gently landed on the ground. Ken, having grabbed hold of Chibimon in midair, braced himself for a fall and landed with a thud in a bank of fluffy white snow.

De-evolving (so as not to call attention to himself in case anyone within the fortress had noticed them), Wormmon called out, "Ken!"

A moment of tense silence passed and then both Ken and Chibimon emerged from the deep snowdrift they'd landed within. Both looked to be largely unharmed, though covered in snow. Ken though he could feel a few bruises developing, but decided he'd likely be fine. "I'm here," he said to reassure his partner. "Miyako?"

"She's all right, I think," Wormmon replied, glancing toward the girl in question. He'd set her down in the snow, and she was awake, though not completely aware, for her eyes seemed to be seeing nothing around her, and she was still holding on to her head in both hands.

"All right," Ken said, climbing out of the snow and brushing some off of himself. "What just happened?"


	18. FriendsIn My Head

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Eighteen**: Friends…In My Head…

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all characters, merchandise, and money, does not belong to me. This plot, however, does. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

In the amount of time that it took to blink an eye, Hikari was gone. One moment, she was standing on the edge of the cliff, silently daring Xiao to go through with his plan, and the next moment she was gone, having disappeared over the edge.

There was a long silence. Daisuke felt as though he ought to do _something_, but his entire body had gone numb, and his mind along with it. Xiao stood, peering down into the abyss as though he were a boy who had tossed a stone and was now watching to see how it fell and how it might land. The two men who had been Hikari's guards stood beside him, watching dispassionately.

"No," Daisuke found himself saying. It felt as though someone else was saying the words, as though someone other than himself was now struggling against the hands which held his arms. "No, no, no," he said again, and again, his mind, his mouth completely unable to say anything else.

"That went well," Xiao said then, turning away from the chasm with a smug sort of pleased smile on his face. "Wouldn't you say?"

"You…," he muttered, his stunned sort of numbness giving way to anger. "You…." He struggled harder against the arms which held him. "Let me go."

"Did you hope to save her?" the trader questioned. "I'm afraid it's far too late for that. Your loyalty is astonishing, however. I do hope it's an effect of the spell."

"I'll never have any loyalty whatsoever to you," Daisuke retorted. "You've made a mistake. Do you suppose the King of Yagami will still idly by while you…while you kill his sister?"

"I don't suppose he would," the other replied. "I'm thankful that I'm not the one that did so! It was, I admit, a dire accident which took place upon my lands, but I am completely blameless, am I not?" He glanced around him toward the guards that surrounded them.

"Yes, sir," said the one nearest, and the others nodded affirmatively.

"You lying…," Daisuke muttered under his breath, struggling once more.

"It is regrettable," Xiao went on, "that it had to come to this. I had hoped to make this as painless as possible for all of us, but, alas, it was not to be so. I understand, of course, that the transition for you will be difficult…."

"I will _never…_," Daisuke interrupted.

"However," the trader continued, speaking louder now, "you will soon come to appreciate me as much as anyone else."

"I'd rather die."

He laughed quietly. "I understand your loyalty to your previous master will make this difficult," he said in a gentle tone. "I am willing to make allowances. However," and his voice now became more stern, "you will follow my orders."

"Never."

Xiao sighed, shaking his head with an expression of regret, and stepped forward. "I'm afraid you'll have no choice," he said, and the smug smirk reappeared. He reached out with one hand and Daisuke, seeing what would undoubtedly happen next, pulled and struggled against the guards with such force that one of them actually took a small step backwards before recovering himself.

Daisuke felt the cold skin of the trader's bare hand as it made contact with his neck, and then the spell responded, releasing itself from its temporary bindings and grabbing hold of every part of him. He felt suddenly more exhausted than he could remember having been in a while, and he wanted nothing more than to crawl beneath a warm blanket and sleep for a long time.

_Don't give up. Don't stop fighting,_ said a quiet voice in his mind, a memory of Hikari's words.

_But I'm so tired,_ he thought, and then he felt the spell tighten itself around his neck.

"That's it," Xiao was saying, the same smug tone in his voice. "Don't fight it."

_I will never, _Daisuke thought, grabbing hold of consciousness, fighting against the power of the magic with every bit of his energy, _never obey you._

Distantly, as though through a tunnel, he could hear his voice speaking. "Master. How may I serve you?"

"Excellent!" Xiao was saying, but his voice sounded even more distant. He continued onward, but the words blurred and faded. If he was giving any orders, they were apparently unimportant orders, for the spell was not allowing Daisuke to hear any of his words. He thought this odd, but didn't much want to hear any more of the trader's voice, and so didn't struggle to listen.

_What?_ a voice was said in his head, a different sort of voice entirely. It sounded vaguely recognizable, but he wasn't sure from where or when. _I don't understand…why is it I can hear you?_

"Master," he heard his voice saying once more, and the droning noise that was Xiao speaking halted abruptly. "How may I serve you?"

_I…don't know_, the voice replied, and he was now aware that it was a female voice, which was why it was so vastly different from Xiao. _I don't understand_, she went on, _why is it I can hear you? Why is it that my head hurts so…?_

Distantly, he thought he could register a pain forming on the left side of his face, and when he thought to look through his eyes, Daisuke could see that Xiao was no longer smiling smugly, but staring toward him with an expression of extreme anger.

* * *

"Wait a minute," Miyako said then, and she got to her feet. "Do you mean to tell me that - ?"

Ken and Chibimon and Hawkmon and Wormmon were staring at her.

She was standing in the middle of a snow-covered field, and the other four there were sitting nearby, watching her. Ken was kneeling in the snow at her feet, staring up at her with a concerned and confused expression. Wormmon, currently positioned on his partner's head, was also peering up at her with his big blue eyes.

"Tell you what?" Hawkmon questioned.

"Miyako…," Ken said slowly when she didn't immediately reply. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," she said dismissively. "I was just…the spell, it was…why is it that I can't…?"

"Can't what?" Chibimon asked.

"Who were you talking to?" Ken asked.

"I…I think…," she began hesitantly, and then shook her head. "The spell," she said then clearly, "Hikari somehow transferred the spell…to me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure," Miyako replied. "I'm absolutely sure, because I was just talking to him inside my head."

"Maybe," Wormmon said, "you're tired…."

"No," she interrupted, shaking her head, "I'm sure of it. I'm not hallucinating or delirious or anything like that."

Ken stood now, rising from the snow. "Why?" he asked, still apparently hesitant to completely believe her claim. "Why would Hikari transfer the spell?"

"I…," Miyako began and then stopped, sinking down into the snow once more, letting her legs collapse beneath her. "I think…she's gone."

There was a long silence. "Gone?" Chibimon echoed finally, his voice sounding a bit hoarse. "She can't be…gone."

"Why do you think that?" Ken questioned in a calmer sort of voice.

She sighed heavily. "The connection of the spell doesn't mean that I can communicate with Daisuke," she began, "only that he can follow orders from a distance. I heard his voice in my head, but it wasn't really _his_ voice, only the voice of the spell, speaking for him. When I asked him why it was I could hear him, I was told it was because…."

"Because you're the master?" Hawkmon filled in when she hesitated to continue for a moment.

She nodded. "I asked him what happened to…to the previous master, to Hikari."

"What did he say?"

"It was her wish that the spell be transferred to me."

"How does that mean she's gone, though?" Chibimon demanded. "It doesn't mean anything…it only means that…."

"I think it was her that we saw fall from that cliff," Miyako said, speaking quickly so as to get the words out of the way.

A stunned silence passed, and then Ken knelt down in the snow beside her once more. "Miyako…," he said gently, "that could have been anyone. We were too far away to see clearly."

She shook her head and took a deep breath. "You don't understand. The reason that my head hurt so much was because of how hard he was fighting against the spell, but even so…even so, I could tell things. I could tell that despite the spell, he's in a lot of pain, and not only the physical sort of pain. What else would cause that?"

He had no good answer for this.

"I can also tell that he was outside, in the snow, on the edge of a cliff," she went on, "and I could see that Xiao was nearby. I could tell that he was angry, and I think…. He would have done anything to get that spell, Ken. What if…what if anything included…?"

* * *

"Who is it?" Xiao demanded. He had a firm grip on each of Daisuke's shoulders and was shaking him so hard that his eyes felt as though they were rattling in their sockets. "Who do you answer to?"

He was feeling a little disoriented, partly from the shaking and partly from the fact that the spell had only been deactivated a moment ago, meaning that his mind was only half-awake. He wasn't quiet certain that he even understood the question. A sharp crack sounded, and he felt the sting of the trader's hand across his cheek.

"Who did she give you to? When did she do it? Answer me!"

"I don't know," he mumbled, more to give a reply than because it was the truth.

"That's a lie," the trader returned sharply. "You have no doubt of who your master is. The spell was active!"

"Sorry," he mumbled, now resorting to the sort of reply that the spell would have told him to give, "I can say nothing of my master."

"If the spell's active, I know that," the other replied dismissively. "You're under no such orders now. Tell me!"

Daisuke said nothing for a long moment, and then once more Xiao slapped the side of his face, as though hoping to awaken him. "Who do you answer to?"

_You're under no obligation to obey the orders of anyone that the spell doesn't bind you to._

_I know. I have no intention of obeying him,_ he thought, and shook his head. "I can't say," he said aloud.

He felt a tug on each of his arms, and was aware that the guards on either side of him were hoisting him to his feet, and now dragging him backwards through the snow. He thought of fighting against it, but the spell and the cold had left him feeling tired, and so he let himself go limp.

A harsh jolt into his back woke him from his half-asleep state, and only now did Daisuke open both his eyes fully. He became aware of his arms being lifted above his head and secured there. He could see Xiao standing a short distance away, an expression of pure anger on his face. Once more, Daisuke let his eyes fall shut. He knew that what was to come would not be pleasant.

* * *

It was late afternoon, the setting sun causing the snow to turn shades of orange and the mountains and cliffs to become dark red. The temperature, which had risen above freezing sometime around noon, was now beginning to sink again, and the wintry cold was becoming harsher. In the valley between the mountains, the wind whistled through the spaces between the rocks, scattering snowflakes and sending shivers down even the most securely wrapped spines.

Beside a tall rocky outcrop, the top of which seemed to touch the clouds, a single Airdramon lay in a pile of snow, resting and waiting. A few small bags of supplies rested beside it, temporarily abandoned in favor of quicker movement and greater agility on the rocky ground.

"I don't see any sign of life," said a voice then, and the Airdramon opened one sleepy eye to see a young boy emerge from around another section of rocks. He was trailed by a small, rather tired looking Agumon, which yawned widely as he walked.

"I don't think anyone's been in this place in a hundred years," Agumon agreed between yawns. Having reached the Airdramon, he sank down in the snow beside the serpentine digimon and rubbed his stomach. "No place to get food, then," he added with a sigh.

Shijo sighed as well, half from hunger and half from exasperation at his partner's continual obsession with food. He glanced around the area. "No one else is back yet, I guess," he observed, and sat down beside his partner. "I suppose we're best off waiting here."

"You don't know that for sure!" came the voice of Li Tan, the Airdramon's tamer, and a moment later the man himself emerged into the space from behind a tall boulder. "We were too far away to see for certain. It could have been anyone."

"Could have been an illusion of some kind," his partner Lopmon added quietly from his perch on the tamer's shoulders. "If someone _did _fall, we should have seen something on the way down, and yet…nothing."

Takeru, the one they were obviously addressing, had folded both his arms over his chest as he considered these words. "It's possible," he admitted.

"Not only possible, but likely! What proof do you have that the princess was ever in that building or on that ledge? You only saw a tragedy occurring and thought the worst," Li Tan went on. "It could have been some other person, a maid or some unfortunate wife that whoever owns that fortress wanted to get rid of."

"And that's supposed to make him feel better?" Lopmon wondered dryly.

Takeru shook his head before the tamer could go on. "I don't have any proof of anything," he replied with a sigh, and took a seat upon flat, small stone. He rested his elbows on his knees, and his head in his hands. "It's only a feeling, and a pretty strong feeling, and," he sighed, "she did once tell me I ought to follow my feelings."

Li Tan had no answer to that, and so sat down in the snow beside his Airdramon. The large digimon moaned contentedly in greeting, and fell back to its sleep. A long silence passed.

"Maybe I don't completely understand, as I've only met her once," Li Tan said then, "so perhaps you might explain to me why it is you hold this princess in such high regard? Is this feeling shared by all your people?"

Shijo glanced first toward Li Tan with surprise, and then towards Takeru, who was considering the question with all seriousness. "The princess of Yagami holds the magic that keeps the kingdom safe," he replied. "It's a certain sort of magic that's only present in the royal family, and strongest so in the women. That might answer part of your question."

"So if she were to die, the kingdom would be in some sort of danger?" the tamer questioned.

"I don't know," Takeru replied after another few moments of thought. "I suppose it would be. It's protection magic, I think." He glanced toward Patamon, who was now resting in his lap.

"I think so," the digimon replied. "If Xiao was responsible in some way, it would be him that's in danger, because I don't suppose that Taichi would be very happy."

"No," Takeru agreed, shaking his head. "I doubt that he would be inclined to allow him to live much longer."

Having not yet met the King, Li Tan had no response to this, but Shijo felt a shiver run down his spine at the thought. A few more moments passed in silence before the boy thought to speak.

"What – what would happen to Daisuke?" he questioned, and Takeru lifted his head suddenly.

"What do you mean by that?" Li Tan questioned, confused.

"I mean…well…that is, the spell…," Shijo continued, stumbling over his words. "It's not as though it's being used…but still…if the princess were to die…would the spell be broken?"

Takeru frowned in thought a few moments. "I don't know," he admitted. "I suppose it might be." He sighed heavily and got to his feet. "I say we wait here for the night and keep looking come morning. If you're right," he glanced now toward Li Tan, "and it wasn't Hikari that fell, well, we at least can agree that we did see _someone_ fall, and we ought to at least find them."

* * *

"You sure you're all right?" Ken asked. He was feeling a bit nervous about being so high in the air after that morning's fall.

"I'm fine," Miyako replied absently, having chosen for the moment to ignore the faint headache. She wasn't quite sure why her head was still hurting, but she knew that it couldn't be for a good reason.

They were circling high above the ledge where Daisuke was, the ledge from which Hikari had fallen. It had slowly emptied of people as the day had gone by and they had watched, periodically checking to see if their best means of entering the building was safe. There was, however, no apparent reason to enter the building, because Daisuke was still on the ledge, as he had been all day.

"I don't understand," Miyako said now as Aquilamon rested on an upper portion of the mountain, far enough away that they would be neither seen nor sensed by the trader or any wizards he might employ. "Does Xiao plan to kill him? Why don't they bring him inside? It's freezing out here."

"I think," Ken said in response, "that Xiao wants to find _you_."

"Me?!" she echoed, truly stunned. "What use does he have with me?"

"He wants the spell, remember? He can't get that unless he somehow convinces who ever it is that does hold it to give it to him – or takes it by force. You're the one who holds the spell now, right?"

She shivered. "Well, that's not fair. What good will making Daisuke into a block of ice do?"

Ken sighed. "I'm guessing that he's hoping it will convince him to tell Xiao who and where you are."

She was mulling over this bit of information when she noticed a bit of moment below. From so high up, it was difficult to see clearly what was going on, but it seemed as though the people who were on the ledge were now returning inside the building, and different people were coming out.

"Igamon," Wormmon mumbled quietly, startling her.

"Are you sure?" Ken asked. "From up here, it's hard to tell."

"I could be wrong," he admitted, "but I'd say those are Igamon."

"Are they going to leave him outside all night?" Miyako wondered.

There was a long moment of silence. Even from so high up, they could hear the sound of the heavy metal door slamming shut on the ledge, leaving only about a dozen or so Igamon outside.

"What are we waiting for?" Chibimon questioned, having spent most of the day awake and waiting to see what would happen (which so far had been nothing). "If we don't start flying down there soon, I'm going to start climbing!"

* * *

A few notes.

The title is taken from one of my favorite Nirvana songs, entitled _Lithium_. The line really goes: _I'm so happy 'cause today I found my friends. They're in my head. _That's way too long for a title, so I cut it a bit. It refers to the fact that not only do Daisuke and Miyako spend a bit of time communicating inside their heads, but he also talks to himself and his memory of Hikari inside his head.

Speaking of which, I don't plan to drag this whole thing out, really I don't. I have to let everyone (both the readers and the characters) suffer through one chapter, at least. So before you freak out, take a deep breath and wait for the next chapter. Thank you.

That is all.


	19. Escape and Heal

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Nineteen:** Escape and Heal

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters and money, etc, does not belong to me. Plot, however does. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

Upon opening her eyes, Hikari discovered that the world was entirely of one color, and that color was white, a bright white that made her eyes ache from the brightness of it.

She felt exhausted, a strange sort of exhaustion that covered her entire body and drained her of all but the ability to think. It was cold, too, so cold that her arms and legs felt as though they had already turned into ice. Moving seemed an impossibly difficult task.

It was snow, she realized, as her mind slowly awakened and she began to remember what the world was and what words were used for. She was lying in the snow, in cold, white snow that was so bright white that the sun shining overhead and reflecting off the snow nearly blinded the average person not wearing some sort of protective eyewear.

She was lying on her back in the snow. She was dressed in some sort of fur lined garment (and thank goodness for the fur, otherwise she would certainly be a lot colder than that) which felt very soft and warm against the parts of her skin that weren't frozen and without feeling.

There was no other sign of life nearby – no voices or bird sounds or footsteps or smells. The wind blew, scattering a bit of the snow on to her face, causing a brief, mild sensation of pain that faded after a moment. For a long moment she lay still, staring into the blinding whiteness that was the world, and felt no desire to move.

There was the sound of footsteps nearby, or maybe it wasn't footsteps. It might have been something else entirely. Something, at any rate, was shuffling through the snow, and it was coming from the right side. Hikari thought to turn her head, and then lost all desire for the move when she remembered how tired she was. The shuffling noise grew a bit louder and closer, however, and so she summoned the energy and turned her neck in the direction of the sound. A few muscles groaned in pain, but it was not an impossible task, which slightly boosted her morale.

"This way," said a voice, and then she did hear footsteps, and clear footsteps, though she could see nothing but bright white snow all around. "This way, it was. This way."

"All right, all right," said a second voice, a bit older and calmer, a bit father away. "I'm coming. These old bones don't work as they once did."

"Aye, I know," said the first voice again. "'Tis no excuse. Thou art lazy is all."

"Hikari!" said a familiar sounding voice, and then she saw clearly a yellowish colored blob against the white background. "Oh, thank goodness."

"Hear that?" said the older sounding voice in the distance, and Hikari could hear the footsteps growing closer. Grateful though she might be for Nyaromon's presence, there was no reason to believe that the voices approaching were in any way friendly, and so she lay as still as possible (which was not difficult as the slightest movement caused pain). Sensing her partner's concern, the small digimon also became quiet and still.

"Aye. I told thee I saw something, didn't I?" said the younger sounding voice. "There!"

"Gods!" the other said, his voice coming out in a breath of astonishment. "Don't tell me…."

"Heaven only knows," the other replied, and Hikari could see that it was a small digimon that was speaking, a plant-type digimon called Alraumon. It was not a common sort of digimon, and so its presence in such a wintry place surprised her. "Oh. Thou hath awakened."

"A blessing from the gods, I'd wager," said the digimon's partner, and his face came into view then. It was an old man, a thin person with his face half hidden within a fur-lined hood. His pale blue eyes peered out with an expression of first shock and then concern. "Or perhaps a curse."

"Tis luck for you," the Alraumon continued, "for my partner is a healer."

Nyaromon, who had been regarding these newcomers with some suspicion, visibly relaxed at this statement, backing up a bit so that the old man could come closer. He knelt down in the snow beside Hikari and leaned over to look more closely at her face.

"Aye," he mumbled, "which is also a blessing and a curse." He sighed. "I shan't be of much help, but I'll do what I can. I'm afraid I'm not the best of healers."

"Anything," Hikari answered, "is better than nothing." She was not surprised to find that it took a great deal of effort to speak, and the action tired her, though she was surprised at how much so it did. Exhaustion tugged at her mind, and she let her eyes fall shut. Squinting through the brightness of the sunlight and the snow had drained what little energy she'd had, and she thought absently that she might sleep for a few minutes.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set, and the humans had all wisely retreated indoors to escape the growing cold of night. The Igamon had taken up positions on the perimeter of the ledge, patiently awaiting whatever might approach. As this portion of the mountain was nearly in the clouds, the only creatures that might approach were ones that very much wanted to be there.

A shadow passed overhead, the shape of a giant bird digimon briefly blocking the light of the red-orange sun. Several of the Igamon turned their heads and caught sight of the bird as it circled the ledge, coming closer and closer to landing. A single human, a woman, was riding on the back of the bird, an expression of concentration on her face.

A few moments before the bird would have set down in the snow, a voice called out, "Spiking Finish!"

The Igamon turned quickly, some a little more quickly than others, and saw that a large green digimon that appeared to be some sort of bug had landed silently behind them while they watched the bird land. A sharp spike extended from the bug's fist, and it impaled the nearest Igamon clean through before it had a chance to draw its weapons. It deleted instantly and silently.

The air was momentarily full of shuriken as the rest of the Igamon launched their weapons in the direction of the bug. Undaunted, it raised both arms and effortlessly blocked most of the blades before deleting another of the Igamon in the same manner as the first. From behind the bug digimon appeared a young man, dressed in a dark, warm cloak and carrying a sword. Quickly and silently, he sliced through the nearest Igamon, and it fell backward, badly injured but not deleting. Before the human had a chance to finish his work, several shuriken interrupted him, and he raised his sword to block the flying blades.

Meanwhile, the young woman had dropped down to the ground from her perch on the large bird, and she quickly crossed the ledge, moving as quickly and silently as possible. Occupied with the threat of the bug and the human, the Igamon paid her little attention.

Scarcely a dozen steps away, the young woman reached her goal. A tall metal pole had been driven securely into the ground, reaching up toward the sky. Near the top of this structure was drilled a hole, and through this hole stretched a long chain. Attached to this chain was another young man.

Daisuke was dressed thankfully not in the nightclothes he had been wearing the past few days, but in fresh clothing – a warm sweater and a pair of long pants. He was even so lucky as to have socks and shoes, though the shoes were rather tattered and tired looking, and a cloak had been thrown over his shoulders. It was mostly draped down behind him now, since his arms were bound over his head, but the hood was still over his head, and so it was not completely useless.

"Tell me you're not dead," Miyako mumbled in a low voice, summoning her magical energy in what she hoped would be a way to break the chains. "Tell me you're not dead."

"I'm not dead," he answered, though this answer didn't reassure her much. He didn't sound very lively, and his tone made it seem as though being alive might not be his preferred state at the moment. "You should go."

"Yeah," she answered. "I know."

There was a spark of magic at the top of the pole, and the chain shattered into pieces. As this had been mostly what was keeping him upright, Daisuke felt his knees give out beneath him, and he sank to the ground. For a moment it seemed as though even this was too much effort, and Miyako dropped down beside him in order to prevent him from falling face first into the snow. "Can you walk?" she asked, aware immediately that even carrying him the short distance to Aquilamon would be impossible.

"I'll try," he said, which was even less encouraging than his last statement. Miyako offered her arm and he got to his feet with some difficulty. No sooner had he done so than Chibimon, who had been riding along on her shoulder, quickly leapt the short distance to his partner.

The distraction of Stingmon and Ken was thus far managing to keep the Igamon busy. There were only a dozen or so of the digimon, and as two of them had been deleted and one was very nearly so, the others had no choice but to battle them. It was lucky, Miyako decided, that none of them had bothered her in the slightest. Even so, the short walk back to Aquilamon was filled with tension, and she worried the entire time that they might turn in an instant and throw a shuriken that she would not even see coming. Before, they had been only dipped in sleeping potion, but this time it might be a far more deadly poison.

They were in the air not long afterward, and only then did the Igamon realize she was leaving. A few of the shuriken flew skyward, and the young mage easily raised a shield to block the blades from reaching her. She looked past the Igamon and met Ken's eye. He nodded and then glanced up toward his partner.

"Spiking finish!" he called, deleting one of the Igamon who was not throwing his blades into the sky, and then turned and grabbed ahold of his partner before launching himself upward as well.

* * *

The sound of a crackling fire nearby indicated to Hikari's half-awake mind why it was that her legs no longer felt quite so cold and frozen. She opened her eyes and saw that the fire was accompanied by the light of candles, and that she was no longer outside in the snow but inside some sort of warm wooden building.

There wasn't much to be seen but wooden walls. The room was sparsely furnished, with barely enough space for the large bed she was lying in. Warm, thick blankets covered her, and a few soft, fluffy pillows were behind her head. At one end of the room, a few curtains formed a barrier between this room and the next.

"Awakened, I see," commented a familiar voice, and she saw the same Alraumon as before. "'Tis a good sign. I daresay thou art a bit warmer now?"

"A bit," Hikari answered, surprised now by how much easier it was to speak, and how much less effort it had taken compared to earlier. "Thank you for bringing me out of the snow."

"If it had been but an hour longer, it wouldn't have been much use bringing thee in," the digimon replied gravely, shaking his head. "Nights in these parts are colder than a single man's healing magic may cure. There is soup. Shall I pour a bowl for thee?"

"Food…," she said with a sigh. "I can't remember how long its been since I've eaten. Please, thank you."

"It isn't much," Alraumon said, moving past the curtain, beyond which Hikari guessed might be the kitchen of this place. "'Tis only a bit of vegetables in broth, and they're dried. There's a bit of rice, too, if you'd like."

"Anything," Hikari answered, and now she caught a whiff of the food and felt her stomach rumble with hunger. She pushed herself up to a sitting position and found that her body still moaned with pain, though not so much as before. "Your partner…I'm guessing he used healing magic and that's why I feel so much better?"

"Aye," said Alraumon as he handed over the bowl of rice and soup. "It was more than he's used in years, I'd say. It's left him a bit exhausted and so he's gone to bed already and left me to see to thee."

She nodded as she sipped the broth, indicating that she was listening even though she was far too involved in eating to reply with words.

"Many years ago, he was a very skilled healer," the digimon continued, turning to the fire within the room and setting a small kettle over the fire before turning to a shelf nearby and removing a mug. "'Tis a very draining bit of work, to have to always be using one's magic for the help of others. My partner had much in the way of magic and much skill, but not so much enthusiasm, I'm afraid. 'Twas a bit depressing for us both, to be around so many of the sick and the dying."

"And so you left the cities?" Hikari concluded, having paused briefly in her eating.

"Aye. We left the cities and the healing houses and we came out to this place. 'Tis a village not more than a day's journey from here, and if anyone is in great need of assistance, we give it. There's rarely anything serious, though, and so he hasn't done much magic in the last years. Until today, that is."

"I'm sorry to have drained him so much," she said, setting down the now empty bowl, feeling quite a bit better now. "I'm very grateful for the healing…and the food."

"Nay, nay, 'tis no trouble," Alraumon replied, waving aside the apology. "'Tis a healer's work to heal. He'll be much better come morning, I'm certain." He turned away from the fire, pouring some hot water from the kettle into a mug. "Have some of this tea. It'll help thee to sleep and forget the pain. The more sleep thee gets, the better."

* * *

A few snowflakes gently floated down to the ground, joining the millions that already blanketed the quiet valley. With a soft crunch, Aquilamon landed in the snow at the bottom of a tall mountain and waited for his passengers to disembark. Miyako slid down easily, her boots making a similar crunch in the snow, and then turned back toward Daisuke. He fell rather than slid, and landed on his knees with a quiet thud.

Aquilamon de-evolved as Chibimon rolled down from his partner's lap and fell into the snow in front of him. "Daisuke!" he called, turning back toward him.

"We can't stay here," Hawkmon said to Miyako, who was glancing back in the direction from which they had come. "It's snowing, and…."

"I know," she replied with a sigh. "No shelter." She caught sight of a shadow appearing against the darkening sky and recognized it as Stingmon and Ken. "We'll have to make do, though. We can't fly all night, and he can't walk very far."

Glancing back toward Daisuke, who'd managed to pull himself up to a sitting position, Hawkmon commented, "Certainly not. Therefore…?"

Miyako sighed and then set down the bag she'd carried. It was heavy, stuffed with a small amount of food supplies – dried meat and a bit of tea as well as a pot in which to heat it. There was also enough waterproof fabric to construct a tent with, though the poles were elsewhere. There were no blankets or clothes, however, as that bag also had gone with the other half of their group.

"Takeru…," she mumbled absently. "Where in the world could they be?"

There was a quiet crunch as Stingmon landed in the snow nearby, and brief flash of light as he then de-evolved. Miyako heard the sound of Ken's quiet footsteps behind her, but when she turned she saw that it was now almost too dark to see him clearly.

"I'll try to find some wood," he said, referring not only to the need for tent-stakes, but also a fire. "You should help him."

"What? But – I don't…I can't…," Miyako began, and wondered if she was speaking to nothing. She sighed.

"Technically," Hawkmon began in a sensible tone, "isn't he now _your_ responsibility?"

Miyako only sighed again, thinking quietly to herself about how little she knew of healing and how they had almost nothing with them that could count as medical supplies. She sank down in the snow beside Daisuke and summoned enough magical power to create a small flame so she might see clear enough.

"I don't know what help I'll be," she said, holding the ball of flame in her left hand, "but I think we'd better find out how badly you are. I know there's a healing house nearby, but it'll take at least a day, maybe two, for me to get you there. In the meantime…."

He was being unusually quiet, which, although concerning, was not surprising. There was not only the newly transferred spell to consider, which might have become stronger with the transference, but also the last few days with Xiao that could not have been remotely pleasant to experience. Then, of course, there was the matter of Hikari, but Miyako pushed this thought from her mind as swiftly as it had arrived. She didn't want to think about that.

Even now, Daisuke said nothing, but he lifted his head when she spoke. As he did so, the hood of the cloak fell back from his head, and Miyako saw that his left eye looked rather…odd. She swallowed the gasp of astonishment and moved the fireball closer so that she could see more clearly. "What…?" she began and then collected herself for a moment so that her next words sounded a bit less hysterical. "What did he do?"

The entire area around his left eye was a dark, reddish-purple color that might have resulted from some heavy, blunt object striking him in the face. The eye itself, however, was not its usual shade, but instead a faded gray color.

Daisuke blinked both his eyes rapidly a few times and then focused his good eye upon Miyako. "Does it look bad?" he asked.

"It looks awful!" she replied immediately. "Can you see?"

He blinked a few more times and squinted a bit, which looked painful because of the bruising, and then shut his other eye. "A little," he said, shrugging.

Miyako felt a wave of emotion pass quickly over her. At first it was sympathy, and then anger toward the one who had caused this. She took a deep breath, pushing these emotions from her mind.

A quiet thud sounded behind her and she turned to see Ken drop a small pile of twigs and sticks in the snow. Under his arm he carried a few long sticks that might be long enough to be tent poles. "If you start a fire," he said, nodding toward the pile of wood, "I'll try to set up the tent."

"Where did you find wood so quickly?" she questioned, and he waved vaguely somewhere behind him.

"There were a few trees around the other side of the mountain," he answered, and began rummaging in the bag Miyako had set in the snow, searching for something he might use to cut the sticks to the right size.

Miyako lowered the ball of fire she carried into the snow and melted away a circle of clear, frozen ground before setting the twigs in place and setting them aflame. She turned back toward Daisuke, who was still sitting in the snow some distance away, and held out one hand. "You might thaw out if you come near the fire," she said. "I can help you."

He didn't seem particularly thrilled with this suggestion, but he didn't offer any resistance to it, either. Instead, he let her grab hold of his hand and hoist him to his feet. Even with only the light of the fire to see by, Miyako could easily make out the expression of pain that crossed over his face. She stepped forward and took his arm over her shoulder, helping him to take the few steps forward toward the fire. Even with her assistance, it seemed to be slow, difficult work, and he sank heavily down to the ground once they'd reached the destination.

"I don't suppose you want to tell me anything about what happened?" Miyako questioned when he'd sat down. She wasn't really expecting an answer and so was not surprised when he didn't immediately speak. After a moment, she turned back to the bag she'd carried and removed a jar of tea leaves and the small pot for heating water. She scooped up a bit of snow into the pot and set it over the fire.

"It's probably not going to do anything to make you feel better," she went on, speaking more to fill the silence than anything. "Most of our food is with Takeru, and heaven only knows where he's gone…." She paused, considering giving more information, and then sighed once more. "Still, some hot tea might help to warm you up."

He was watching her as she spoke, saying nothing, but seeming to pay attention to her words. There was a long silence as the snow slowly began to melt into water. Kneeling beside the flames, Miyako watched as it slowly disappeared, transforming from the icy cold solid into the clear liquid.

"You shouldn't have come after me," Daisuke said then, speaking quietly. He was watching the flames as they danced beneath the pot, reaching heavenward and tapping at the bottom of it. Miyako turned away from the pot and stared at him for a long moment. "He's only…he's not going to give up. He's only going to come after you now."

She blinked twice, then a third time. "You think I'm going to…to abandon you?" she said then, and her voice held a slight hint of anger, of hurt. "You think I'm going to…to…." She stumbled over her words for a moment and then turned back to the pot and collected her thoughts.

"What sort of person do you think I am?" she finally asked. "Do you think that I could do that? That I could have left you there to die? That I could have…that _Hikari_ could _ever_ have left you with him…with that monster?"

He was quiet, and turned away now from the dancing flames to study the snow around him. "I don't know," he said after a long moment.

He fell silent, and Miyako guessed at where his thoughts were headed. A tiny bubble rose to the surface of the water and popped. A few moments later, another followed, and then another.


	20. It's Hard Enough to Live

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Twenty: **It's Hard Enough to Live

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon, _etc, does not belong to me. Plot, however, does. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

The early morning sun was poking through a set of sheer curtain panels that covered a tall glass window, one of many that lined both sides of the long hallway. It was completely empty, except for a single overstuffed armchair, in which a young woman was seated, eyes shut. 

A tall door on one end of the hallway quietly creaked open, and Ken poked his head through. Upon seeing Miyako, seated in the middle of the hallway, he stepped through the doorway and let it close behind him.

"Any luck?" he questioned when he'd reached a spot not more than a step from her chair.

With a heavy sigh, Miyako opened her eyes and shook her head. "No. It's the most puzzling thing. I can follow his trail to the bottom of the mountain, and then it disappears. I suppose it's the snow and the mountains interfering."

"The only way to know for sure would be to go back there and look for him."

"Yeah, and walk right in front of Xiao. I'm not exactly eager to do that, either." Sighing yet again, Miyako turned her mind away from this thought. "How's he doing?"

* * *

The sun was shining brightly, reflecting off the pristine whiteness of the snow. Miyako pulled the hood of her cloak down over her eyes and surveyed the land that stretched out in front of her. A strong wind blew past her, and she grabbed the end of her scarf and pulled it tighter around her neck. Beside her, she could hear her partner's feathers ruffling in the wind, and glanced up to see that Aquilamon was anxious to start flying on such a clear day. With the strong wind blowing in their favor, the trip would be speedy.

"Are you sure it's a good idea," he questioned, nodding back toward the building, "to bring him along?"

A short distance away, they could see two people slowly making their way toward them from the entrance of the healing house. Both were dressed in long, warm cloaks designed to keep off the snow and the cold wind.

"It's only been three days," Miyako said with a sigh, "and already I can see that he's hating being here." She shook her head. "The longer he stays here, the worse he'll get. Oh, I don't mean his leg or his eye," she added before her partner could point out the irrationality of this statement. "I mean his spirit. Staying here, he's got nothing to think about but _her_…."

"I suppose you're right," Aquilamon conceded. "Still, to go so near to Xiao? It's like tempting him to make a move…."

"Are you ready?" Ken asked then, as they had come close enough to be heard. He glanced toward Miyako as he spoke, but she could see that he was more speaking to Daisuke, who wasn't looking particularly pleased about the idea of traveling.

"I'm ready," he said, and as he turned to peer out over the horizon, Miyako caught sight of his face. His left eye was completely covered with a faded blue scrap of cloth that had been tied around his head.

Miyako didn't feel as though she completely believed this statement. He didn't look as though he was happy or unhappy to be leaving the healing house.

"Are you feeling any better?" she asked, watching as he climbed aboard the giant bird with only a slight bit of difficulty. "It seems like you're walking a bit easier…."

"A little," he admitted, once more not seeming to be happy or unhappy about this development. "It doesn't hurt as much."

"I still think," she went on, settling into a comfortable position, "that it's absolutely ridiculous that they couldn't do something about your eye. I mean, what good is healing magic if it can't work any better than a doctor?"

"They did do something," he replied, speaking slightly louder because the sound of the wind increased as Aquilamon took to the sky. "It's only that it'll take more than three days to heal."

"Hmm," Miyako answered. "As I said, no better than what Jyou could have done back home with a few potions."

* * *

It was afternoon by the time they landed, a few hours from sunset. Ken was already there, looking closely at a particular section of ground near the base of the mountain. Miyako glanced upward toward the top of the peak and shuddered.

_If she fell,_ she thought darkly, thinking of Hikari, _from that great of a height, is there any way she could have survived?_

She could sense nothing of Hikari's magic, the use of which would have been the only possibility of survival. This did not mean that it had not been used, as it had been several days since that time and any such trace would likely have dissipated.

"Do you see anything?" she questioned of Ken. "Anything at all?"

"I thought I saw a sign of a recent campfire back that way," he said, pointing away from the mountain, "but no sign of footprints or tracks. It's been a few days. It's probably snowed since then."

"So, nothing conclusive," she concluded with a sigh.

"Do you sense anything?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"It's been a few days."

There was a long silence. Daisuke yawned and sat down in the snow, feeling tired. They had left in the early morning and been flying most of the day. Ken walked about a bit longer, studying the ground more closely, and Miyako shut her eyes and listened to what was carried on the wind. V-mon fell on to his partner's lap and closed his eyes, ready for a nap.

"There's a village near here," Miyako said then, opening her eyes. "If Takeru and the others aren't camping out in the middle of nowhere, I would guess that they headed for the village."

"How far is it from here?" Hawkmon questioned.

"I'm not sure," she confessed. "It's hard to say. I'd guess not more than an hour's walk, maybe two. Look, it's worth a try to head for the village and see what could be found. Maybe someone there's seen something."

Ken shrugged in agreement. Daisuke yawned again and set to work getting to his feet, which, thanks to the not-quite-healed condition of his left leg was not an easy task. He managed to do so with the assistance of a pole that the healers had given him for use as a walking stick. Watching him, Miyako noted the grim expression of pain that briefly passed over his face.

"Maybe you should stay here," she said after a moment. For a half-second, perhaps less, she noted that he seemed unhappy about this idea, but it faded almost as soon as she'd noticed it. Still, she thought, it was progress.

"Alone?" Ken questioned. "Are you sure _that's_ a good idea?"

"He really ought to rest that leg," Miyako pointed out. "It would not be resting it to walk a few hours to a village. It would probably make it worse."

"That is true," Hawkmon agreed, nodding.

"Yes," Ken said, speaking slowly, "but we're in the middle of nowhere…."

"And it's cold," Wormmon pointed out.

"And," Ken went on, and glanced briefly upward.

"All the same," she answered. "Unless you want to carry him?"

"I could walk," Daisuke interrupted with a dry sort of tone that made the others immediately aware of the fact that they had been speaking about him as though he was not present.

There was a brief moment of embarrassed silence before Miyako shook her head. "You could, and you'd be in pain for the next week."

"I'm already in pain," he said in a quiet voice. Miyako sighed and wondered if she ought to be pleased that he was managing to argue with her despite the effects of the spell. It had always been the nature of their relationship that she and Daisuke had spent more time arguing than anything else, and the fact that he was willing to engage in debate even now was a good sign. On the other hand, it was as frustrating as always.

Again there was a silence as she considered, and then she shook her head. "No, you're better off staying here for now. I'm not going to let it get any worse," she added firmly before he could show signs of protesting. "Seek shelter if you need to, and stay out of sight, but don't stray too far. We'll be back before nightfall."

He shrugged absently, as thought it didn't matter much to him one way or the other, and Miyako hefted her bag over her shoulder and headed off in the direction she had sensed the village. After a moment, Ken followed after her.

Daisuke watched them go for a long moment and then sighed and sat down in the snow once more. Though he hadn't wanted to admit it, he was pleased to have been left behind, as his leg _was_ hurting and he was tired and not looking forward to a long walk. V-mon sat down beside him and for a long time there was silence in the valley.

"I think," V-mon said after some time, "that the Igamon have been here."

"Wouldn't be surprised," Daisuke answered. He shut his eyes and fell back in the snow, feeling tired.

"No," the digimon disagreed, shaking his head. "I mean recently."

Daisuke opened his good eye and squinted at his partner through the bright sunlight. "You see footprints?" he questioned.

"No," the other admitted, "but I have a bad feeling. Maybe we should find shelter."

"Yeah," Daisuke answered. "Probably." He didn't move for a few moments, however.

After some time, he sat up again, reflecting that it would likely be a bad idea to fall asleep in the snow. A few snowflakes floated past his eye and a gentle breeze scattered the snow in the air. A cloud passed in front of the sun, dimming the brightness.

"I smell snow," V-mon noted, and turned back to see that his partner was getting to his feet. "I think a storm's coming."

"It would be my luck," his partner agreed with a resigned sort of sigh. "I wonder if there_ is_ any place around here to take shelter?"

"Maybe," the digimon said hopefully, "there's a cave in the mountain? If we head closer to the rocks…."

"Maybe," Daisuke admitted, and they slowly began to make their way through the snow toward the mountain behind them. It was not a far distance, but it was slow going. Each step caused him more pain than he was willing to admit to, and the snow beneath his feet grew deeper with each step. The wind grew stronger, and the snow slowly began to fall more heavily.

"Tell me again why we couldn't stay back at the healing house?" V-mon shouted over the sound of the wind roaring in his ears. Being cold never made him happy. "It was warm there!"

Daisuke didn't bother to shout back an answer, only forced the walking stick into the snow in front of him and focused on making his legs carry him forward. He lifted his head and squinted through the wind, hoping to see that there was an opening in the rocky wall nearby, and that it was not more than a few steps away. He saw nothing, however, save a blur of white snow flying in the wind.

Suddenly, the wind shifted and changed directions, and the smell of wood smoke greeted his nose. It smelled warm and inviting, and he paused in his steps and turned his head, trying to determine where it was coming from. With any luck, some other travelers were taking shelter in a cave or a tent nearby and had lit a fire to keep warm.

"Over there!" V-mon called, and Daisuke turned his head in the direction his partner pointed. He could see the wisps of smoke as they floated through the darkening sky, but it took a few moments before he was able to figure out where they were coming from.

It appeared at first glance that the smoke was coming from the side of the mountain, but as they came closer, it became clear that a small house was built into the side of the rocks. The rear wall was the mountain itself, as it had naturally stood for centuries, but the other four walls had been constructed from similar stone. Even the roof of the building was made to appear as though it were part of the rocky hill.

The only way in which any visitor would ordinarily be able to tell that it was in fact a building would be by the smoke billowing out of a space in the roof. Daisuke, however, was lucky enough so that at this moment the door of the house was slightly ajar, and a bit of light was seeping out into the dimness of the outside world.

"Finally," he mumbled to himself, "a bit of luck."

* * *

The village was eerily quiet, a condition which Miyako chose to attribute to the cold weather. The locals, assuming that they were not stupid, were likely holed up in warm houses beside roaring fires, safe from the increasingly bitter and cold winds. There was no immediate evidence that Takeru, Li Tan, and Shijo had been here, but nor was there immediate evidence that anyone lived there at all.

The houses were hastily constructed buildings made of wood and looking to Miyako's eyes as though a strong wind might blow them over immediately. Puffs of smoke emerged from the chimneys, thus proving that the village was not completely abandoned.

"I have a bad feeling about this place," Ken mumbled in a low voice, and when Miyako glanced in his direction, she saw that his eyes were narrowed in a suspicious expression.

She took a deep breath and summoned her magical senses, hoping to detect a sign of Takeru. Though he did not have much in the way of practical magical ability, he did have _something_, and as such it was possible that Miyako could detect his presence and track him with the use of her magic. This was not an easy task, however.

As she did so, there was a creaking noise and Ken turned sharply to see that a door opened and a single man stepped out of a nearby house. He was dressed, as they were, in a long, fur-lined cloak with a large hood that mostly obscured his face. A thick, dark beard was all that was visible as a defining characteristic.

"State thy purpose here," he intoned, and his voice was deep and commanding. Ken supposed that he might be the leader of this village.

"We're looking for friends of ours," he replied, deciding that it was best to be truthful as possible. "Have you seen any strangers in this area lately?"

The man was silent a moment as he considered his response. "Strangers, aye. Merchandise, aye."

"Merchandise?" Wormmon echoed, and Miyako opened her eyes and turned toward the man. She opened her mouth to speak, but Ken raised one arm up in a motion intended to stop her.

"You're traders, then?" he questioned.

The man shrugged. "At times," he replied. "What price might thee pay to retrieve thy…friends?"

"It would depend," Ken answered, "on whether or not you actually have them."

"And if I do?"

"_If_ you do," he said, stressing the if, "then we might negotiate."

The man was silent a moment, and Miyako bit her lip to keep from speaking. After a long moment, he nodded.

"Wait here," he said, and then disappeared back inside the building from which he had come.

There was silence for a moment, and then Miyako let out the breath she'd been holding and said in a tense whisper, "Is this entire kingdom interested only in trading slaves?"

"Probably not. Only the ones we're lucky enough to meet," he answered. "Any sign of Takeru?"

"He _was_ here," she replied. "I can't say when, or if he still is, but I sense enough of his presence to know that he was. I'm hoping…and yet dreading…that he and the others might be what this man is talking about."

The door creaked open once more and the man they had been speaking with reemerged from the building. "Come this way," he said, and walked across the center of the small village.

* * *

A step away from the door, Daisuke could feel a bit of warmth seeping out from the inner chamber of the hidden building. He paused for a moment, both for rest and to feel the comfort of a bit of warmth after so much time spent out in the cold. As he did so, however, he heard the sound of something solid colliding with something else solid. The sound of a voice grunting in pain accompanied the thud of collision, suggesting that one of the things was living.

"Monster!" said a different voice. "What monster would cause harm to a healer?"

"What healer is he?" came the reply. "He hath never healed my people! Not so well as he hath healed that one!" This voice held a great deal of bitterness.

The sound of a struggle followed these words, and Daisuke slowly slid the last step to the door, leaning up against the side of the house so that he might see past the doorway. He could see at first only wooden walls constructed within the rocks to give the place a warmer feeling, and then he saw a bit of grey fur fly past his vision and saw that a Gazimon was furiously scuffling with another digimon. It took a few more moments before he was able to identify the other as an Alraumon, for the two were rolling around the floor with such speed that it was difficult to clearly make out what they were.

"Now, for once," went on the voice which had shown such bitterness, "he hath brought something of value to our village. What luck have I that I might be the first…."

"You mean the last!" retorted a female voice, and the bitter-sounding man cried out in pain.

At almost the exact moment that this cry sounded, the Alraumon that had been struggling with the Gazimon cried out, and though Daisuke could not see where it was, he could hear a second thud as it collided somewhere. "I'm sorry," said the Alraumon, its voice sounding weak.

"Daisuke!" V-mon whispered, tugging at the edge of his partner's cloak. He nodded toward the doorway, indicating that he obviously thought it would be best to interfere in whatever was happening.

"What good would I be?" he returned, gesturing toward his mostly-useless left leg. "I can't fight anything…."

"So that's it, then?" his partner asked. "We do nothing?"

A cold gust of wind chose that precise moment to send a blast of snow towards them both. At the same time, the sound of renewed scuffling from beyond the door distracted Daisuke from his partner's questions. With some effort, he crossed the doorway so that he might see inside from the other direction.

"Thou thinks thou shall fare any better than that one?" said a gruff voice that must have come from the Gazimon. "Whatever thou art, there's no female that hath ever managed to defeat me."

"Then I," replied the female voice, "will be the first to humiliate you!"

Something about the angry, screeching sort of manner in which this last statement was delivered caused a distant sort of memory in Daisuke's mind to twinge. He frowned, wondering why it was that these memories chose to return to him at such odd moments. Past the door rolled the Gazimon and whatever it was he was now fighting, a white-colored digimon with a long tail….

"Tailmon!" V-mon gasped out in a sharp whisper, and lunged through the door to join the fray before Daisuke had completely determined what was going on. Before long, the blur of fighting digimon was three colors, white, gray, and blue.

Sighing with reluctance, for he knew that he could not abandon his partner in this strange quest of his, Daisuke pulled the hood of his cloak better over his head and pushed open the door to the strange hidden building.

From the inside, it appeared to be a very small sort of house. The wall to his left was home to a massive fireplace that was doing its job of heating not only the building but also a large pot of some sort of stew that was hung over the flames. The walls were made mostly of wood, to further insulate against the cold stone and the wicked winds beyond, and there were no windows visible. A small table was in the center of the room to which he now entered. A single plate was set on the table, and the remains of a second were on the floor nearby. One of the chairs had been thrown to the floor and now lay in front of the fireplace on its side. Another had simply fallen backwards beside the table itself, and the third was still standing.

The Alraumon was lying on the ground beside what must be his partner, an elderly man with a long white beard who looked to be unconscious. He was lying still with his eyes shut, and his partner was doing the same. A few bottles of an unknown substance had fallen to the floor from the fireplace mantle, and small bits of broken glass now covered the floor of what would be considered the kitchen area. Amidst this chaos, the blur of three digimon fighting randomly danced around the room, occasionally knocking over another bottle or some other object.

Daisuke thought absently that he did not envy the cleanup that would be required when this was all over, and then turned his head toward the right to see that this wall was made entirely of curtains. One had been yanked down from its hangings to lie in a pool on the floor, and the other had been pushed aside so that the room beyond might clearly be seen from the doorway. A second, smaller fireplace was within that room, with only a small blaze burning within, and a large, wooden bed took up most of the remaining space.

Upon the bed was the man who had spoken with such bitterness, and who was most likely the partner of the Gazimon with which V-mon was now fighting. He, too, was fighting with some person beneath him that Daisuke could not clearly see through his back. Whoever this person was, they were fighting with great rage, and this was only managing to anger the man even more. He grabbed hold of a wrist in each hand and pushed them back on to the mattress beneath them, but the woman beneath only fought back now with her legs, kicking him solidly in the stomach. He pulled back, grunting in pain, and briefly released his hold upon her wrists. Encouraged by this freedom, the woman quickly scuttled backwards in an attempt to get away, but he recovered before she could get very far, and grabbed hold of one of her ankles, dragging her toward him again.

"Why dost thou fight it?" he questioned, and though Daisuke could not clearly see his face he could hear a bit of teasing triumph in the man's voice. Despite her struggling, the man reached out and grabbed her by the collar, pulling her closer to him. He then stretched reached around her with his other arm and pulled her into an embrace, trying to kiss her. She leaned backward, trying with all her might to avoid him, and his lips succeeded in connecting only with the side of her cheek.

Throughout this entire battle, Daisuke slowly moved into the room, so that the details of the fight became gradually more clear to him. Soon enough, he was standing only a few steps away from the bed, and could quite easily make out the features of the man. He was neither particularly young nor old, his grizzled face suggesting an age greater than his years. His dark hair was rumpled and his beard had grown in thick in spots and faintly in others. Even here, he could see that his eyes were flashing with anger and irrationality.

The man was a stranger to him, completely unrecognizable. The woman, however, was eerily familiar.

* * *

Once more, I have stolen the title of this chapter from a song (which I happen to be listening to right now). This time the song is _Bling (Confession of a King)_ by The Killers. I'm sorry if I'm lately sounding like a radio advertisement. This is in no way meant to serve as an endorsement of this music, and (in case you didn't know this) I don't get any money from anyone for this.

The line in question goes "when I offer you survival/you say it's hard enough to live"…in case anyone was wondering.

That said, I'm pretty happy with the progress of this story so far, and I'm sorry the chapter updates have been sort of slow lately. As always, life interferes with this stuff. Believe it or not, I think I might actually know how this one ends….

Thanks for reading!


	21. Familiar Faces

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Twenty-One**: Familiar Faces

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie: **_Digimon, _all characters, etc, does not belong to me, but the plot does. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

The building appeared to be large from the outside and small on the inside. Miyako had expected that upon entrance she would be greeted with a large, cavernous space, but, when the torch beside the doorway was lit, she saw that it was crowded and cramped.

The smell, she noticed before the light was lit, was of sweat and blood and dirt. She could hear voices dimly mumbling in the dark, and then, when the torch was lit, they rose to a deafening level.

"Silence!" shouted the man who had opened the door. "Silence, all of thee, fools!" Though no silence came, the voices did quiet themselves to the point where Miyako found it was possible to think clearly. "This way," he said, and began to walk down a long, narrow corridor.

Miyako held back a moment, quite content with allowing Ken to walk in front of her, and to follow in his wake. The corridor was lined with metal bars, and the building was so like a prison that she felt certain that murderers and thieves must wait behind the bars. As she walked, she could dimly see eyes peering through the darkness and faces staring at her. Some of them were angry, but some held only desperation and hunger.

"These are your slaves?" Ken was asking as they walked. To the unknowing ear, it sounded as though he was mildly interested or detached from the situation. Only Miyako, who knew better, could detect the well-concealed note of disgust in his voice.

"For now," their guide replied. "In the spring they'll be taken to auction. It's no good to travel now, so they wait here."

"H-how many are there?" Miyako questioned, noticing that behind each set of bars there were a great deal of faces peering through.

"We keep no count of it until the market," came the answer. "Probably we shall lose a hundred before the spring, but we also may gain a hundred more." Even in the dim light, she could see him shrug, as though such things were of no great concern.

The footsteps halted at the end of the room, and they stood in front of a relatively empty cell. "The newest come here," the man explained, gesturing with the torch toward the bars. "If thy friends were brought here, they will be in this room."

Miyako glanced toward Ken, who met her gaze with a similar expression. After a moment of hesitation, she stepped forward and called in a clear voice: "Takeru?!"

There came the sound of grunts, groans, and shuffling, briefly overwhelmed by a renewed bit of shouting from the rest of the building. Their guide turned and shouted out, "Silence!" to the others. Then, there was the sound of a thud against the metal bars in front of them.

"Miyako? Is that you?" came Takeru's voice, and in the dim light she was able to make out his face.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Miyako stepped forward and thrust one hand between the bars. "It's me," she said, and felt his hand grab hold of hers in the darkness. "Are the others with you – Shijo, Li Tan?"

"They are," he replied. "I can't believe you managed to find us. Thank goodness. Does this mean…?"

"I don't know," she answered, and glanced back over her shoulder briefly to see that Ken and the other man were speaking, apparently negotiating as he had said he would. "I'm leaving that to Ken. We'll do whatever it takes, though, don't worry."

"I can make no such decisions," the man said then. "I shall have to consult our leader."

"Very well," Ken conceded, "I will come with you and talk to him."

"It's not possible," the other replied smoothly. "He will not take visitors."

This statement was so completely unexpected and unhelpful that for a long moment, Ken didn't speak. "He will not…take…visitors?" he echoed, and then shook his head. "What sort of useless leader takes no visitors? We are not visitors, we have come to discuss business."

"He will not see outsiders," the man replied, shrugging as if to say that policy was policy and could not be changed. "I will go and speak with him on your behalf. You wait here." He turned to leave, taking the torch with him.

"No!" Miyako interrupted, turning away from Takeru. "We have no guarantee that you will return. Maybe this is how you've gotten most of your slaves."

There was an outcry from the cells down the hall. It sounded mostly positive, as though her guess had been correct. The man with the torch had nothing to say to this.

"This is how things are done," he said simply, when the noise had lowered enough that he might be heard. "If you leave, there will be no negotiations. If you wait, I will speak to our leader."

The shouting of the slaves continued at loud volumes. Miyako thought she could make out a few words, mostly unpleasant, such as "liar!" or "trickster!"

"All right," Ken said then, shrugging absently, as though this was not much of an issue. "I will follow your rules. Go."

The volume increased even more. The man smirked and then turned and strode down the hallway with the torch in his hand. He ignored the shouting and taunting of the slaves as he walked, and then there was a loud thud as the door shut and the place was plunged into darkness.

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Wormmon questioned of his partner in the darkness. Now that there was nothing to shout at, the prisoners fell back into a lethargic silence, though some were muttering to themselves.

"I agree!" Takeru said. "I don't think he's going to come back."

"He doesn't have to," Ken said with a slight shrug, and nodded toward Miyako, who sighed heavily.

"It would have been fairer," she told them all, "if we had mentioned to him that I might be a mage. I'm sure he would have insisted I wait outside or something."

"Ah, but it would not have mattered!" came the voice of Li Tan from within the cell. "You could have then broken the walls from the outside!"

* * *

Upon first sight of the man who entered the building, the wild snow blowing in behind him, Hikari felt a shiver run down her spine.

She was seated at the table beside the fire, sipping at some of the soup that had been prepared. Tailmon, who had only that morning felt strength enough to return to this higher form, was napping on a shelf above the fireplace, comfortable and warm. The healer, whose name was Mei Chen, was sitting across the table from her.

The day had been quiet and uneventful up until that moment. As calm morning had turned to windy and then stormy afternoon, Hikari had let her thoughts tumble over themselves and come to the conclusion that she might be best off leaving this place as soon as possible. In fact, she had decided that the next morning would be a good time. She had expressed this wish to Mei Chen, who had spent the morning cleaning, reading, and cooking as he ordinarily did, his life not much disrupted by his unexpected guest.

"Have some food," Mei Chen told her when she had finished speaking her thoughts on the matter, and gestured to the table. He spooned some of the delicious smelling broth on to a plate and added some dumplings of his own creation before placing it in front of her. Then he served himself some of the same and sat down beside her.

"The weather…," he began, but got no farther. The door burst open at that moment, revealing a man standing in the doorway.

The wind was gusting behind him, for the day had become a vicious storm, a fact that Hikari, Mei Chen, and their partners had been unaware of, thanks to warm, thick walls. He was tall, with white flakes of snow speckled in his dark hair and desperation in his dark eyes. He stepped into the building and pulled back the hood of his dark, fur-lined cloak, and then the cloak itself, and hung it on the hook behind the door. He let the door swing shut behind him.

"Chen!" shouted the visitor, and the old healer slowly rose to his feet. "The slaves, they're…."

His eyes had at first sought only Mei Chen, but now they slowly took in the rest of the room: the warm fire and the plate of hot stew as well as the woman seated at the table.

Hikari had been dressed in a warm robe leant to her by the healer that Xiao employed. When she had awakened at the bottom of the cliff she was relieved to find that this garment was intact. Nonetheless, it had been slightly damaged, and Mei Chen had volunteered not only to mend it but also to wash it. In the meantime, there was only his own clothing to lend her, which was not the usual sort of clothing that a woman might wear. She was thus now dressed in a white, long-sleeved, high-collared shirt that buttoned down the center. It was at least three sizes too big for her. Beneath, she had put on a pair of long dark blue pants. These had to be rolled up a few times so that she might not trip on them, and even then her feet were completely hidden beneath the hems.

Though she herself felt odd and strange wearing these garments, there must have been something appealing about the way she was dressed, for when the visitor caught sight of her, he left off his words in mid-sentence and stared, wide-eyed.

"Ling," said the old healer gently, stepping away from the table. "What of the slaves?"

"The…," began Ling, speaking as though in a daze. He broke off, shaking his head, and turned toward the healer. "What is this?"

"This?" he echoed, frowning faintly. "This is a meal. I made it myself. Nothing much, but it doesn't taste bad. Wouldst thou like…?"

"Not that, thou ancient fool," Ling interrupted, gesturing toward Hikari, who, after the initial foreboding chill, had eaten a dumpling in an attempt to pretend as though she was not present. "Her!"

Hikari paused mid-chew and raised her eyes, aware that as the only female in the room (aside from Tailmon) it was not likely that she was mistaken about the focus of that statement. She glanced up toward Ling, who looked away immediately upon sensing her eyes, turning back toward Mei Chen.

"Thou knows that all the women in our village are either sick or old and useless," he continued. "Thou knows that we have been trying vainly to purchase women so that our people do not die off and cease to exist."

Hikari pushed back her chair, aware in the momentary silence that it creaked loudly upon the wood floor. Tailmon opened one eye and flicked her tail impatiently.

"Thou knows this, healer! Yet thou has been hiding this one here for thine own purposes?" Ling concluded, his voice having now completed the progression from astonished to angered. "Thou, who is far too old to produce children!"

"I have not been hiding anything from anyone," Mei Chen replied in the same calm voice. "This woman came to me for aid and healing. I thus healed her. I have no intention of…."

"Lies!" interjected Ling, waving one hand. Hikari noted now that his partner, a Gazimon, emerged from the outside world now into the doorway. He shook his head, letting the snow fall from his ears, and took in the scene with wide eyes.

"I tell no lies!" Mei Chen replied, this time his voice raising slightly. Tailmon opened the other eye and stretched, shaking off her lethargy.

Ling only snorted in disbelief. "It matters not thy truth or lies, old man," he answered, and now turned back toward Hikari, by now had gotten to her feet. "As I have laid first eyes on this one, I now claim her for myself."

"You what?" Hikari could only say, feeling as though she might have missed something. A quiet thud sounded as Tailmon leapt down from

"Ling, that's not possible," Mei Chen put in, and took a step forward so that he was between Hikari and the man. He put up both hands in an attempt to at a placating gesture. "She isn't here to be claimed for thy people."

Once more he snorted in disbelief. "She is now," Ling answered, and took a step forward. "She'll be the bearer of my children. She will revitalize my village! I shall…!"

Tailmon had leapt from her spot above the mantle and was now crossing the room to her partner. Hikari had taken a few steps more backward from the table, though at this words her composure wavered slightly and she halted her steps.

"Ling Wei!" Mei Chen interrupted sharply, speaking as a teacher to an unruly student. "She is no slave to be bought!"

"Of course not!" he replied, for a moment seeming to have regained his sensibility. "She is a woman to be taken, and I shall take her!"

"Fool among fools," Alraumon said then, having kept silent throughout the argument, emerging into the kitchen area from the bedroom. He looked toward Hikari and then the room behind him, indicating that she might be best off taking shelter there.

"Who dost thou call fool?" Gazimon demanded, and then lunged for Alraumon. Taken by surprise, the plant digimon dodged this attack only narrowly, and then glanced up to notice that his partner had not escaped so easily. Stumbling backward, Mei Chen knocked over the chair he had previously been sitting in and fell to the ground. His head connected solidly with the floor, and his eyes fell shut.

"Monster!" Alraumon cried. "What monster would cause harm to a healer?"

Hikari stepped backward, shutting the curtain which blocked the bedroom from the kitchen. She could barely think, barely make out the words that passed after that between the visitor and the plant digimon. She thought to leave, to run out into the snow, but knew that she would not get far in the snow, and there was only one exit from this house. Frantically she looked around the room, seeking something, anything, that might be a useful weapon. She saw nothing, however. Then, she heard the heavy footsteps of Ling Wei as he quickly crossed the room and then the curtains were flung open once more, this time with a violent sort of shove.

"I must admit," he mumbled, casting an evaluative sort of gaze over her, "that thou are not my ideal sort of woman. Still, I shall take what I am given."

"You've been given nothing!" Tailmon retorted, and leapt into action, claws flashing. Before she could reach Ling Wei, however, his partner Gazimon interrupted, leaping between them and easily deflecting the attack.

"Thou thinks thou shall fare any better than that one?" Gazimon questioned, gesturing back toward the other room, apparently referring to "Whatever thou art, there's no female that hath ever managed to defeat me." He grinned at these words and flexed one paw into a fist.

"Then I will be the first to humiliate you!" Tailmon answered and lunged toward him once more. He dodged quickly, then turned and lunged back. Before long, it was not possible to clearly distinguish the difference between the two digimon, and they became not much more than a gray and white blur.

Ling Wei stepped forward and, before Hikari had time to avoid him, he had grabbed hold of her left arm and pulled her closer to him. She pulled back her arm, but he did not release his hold, instead reaching out and grabbing her right wrist as well.

"I will waste no time," he said, ignoring her struggles, paying no mind whatsoever to her attempts to pull away. "I will waste no time hoping that thee might come to accept my company. I will waste no time wishing for things that will not happen. I have no time for those things."

"I don't…," Hikari began, but he interrupted her, throwing her backwards so that she sat down, hard, upon the bed that was behind them both.

"Instead," he went on as though she had not spoken, stepping forward so that he was now standing over her. "I will simply take what is available and save both of us the trouble."

He lifted one leg and placed his knee upon the bed, causing Hikari to immediately slide backward away from him. He placed his other knee on the bed, and she pulled up her legs on to the bed and pulled back from him. The wall was behind her now, however, and there was no place to back up to. Ling Wei once more gripped her wrists in each hand and leaned forward, pushing her back, so that she was now lying beneath him, his strange, dark eyes flashing with triumph and pleasure.

"I won't…," she said, struggling against his grip, "I won't be yours." With that she lifted one of her own legs, bending so that her knee was flat against her chest, and kicked outward. Her foot connected solidly with his stomach, and he pulled backward, grunting in pain. Encouraged by this, Hikari then slid the rest of her body out from beneath him and crawled away on the bed toward the edge of the mattress. She had almost reached it when she felt the strong grip once more, this time upon her right ankle, and then she was sliding backward over the blankets toward him despite her efforts to resist.

"Why dost thou fight it?" he questioned, and then grabbed hold of the collar of Mei Chen's too-large shirt, pulling her upward, and then reached out and pulled her into an awkward sort of hug. Hikari twisted as best she could, trying to escape this, but this effort, as well, was useless. She could feel the pressure of his lips as they connected with the side of her face, and knew that was not what he had been aiming for.

"I don't…," she replied, pushing him away with both arms, "want this! I am not something you can buy!"

"I don't need to buy this," Ling Wei replied, finding her struggles somewhat humorous. "It is already mine, for I have claimed it. Thou belong to me."

"I don't _belong_ to anyone," she retorted, and then a movement behind Ling Wei caught her eye. Someone, she could not clearly see who, was standing in the entrance to the room. This latest visitor was carefully maneuvering over a curtain that must have been felled at some point. He was dressed in a long, warm cloak, a similarly warm hood pulled over his eyes, and was walking along with the aid of a tall pole. Though the presence of the newcomer momentarily distracted her, Hikari had no time on which to think about what this might mean, for at that moment, losing his sense of humor, Ling Wei shoved her backward and she fell once more onto the soft bed.

"I don't have time to debate these things, woman," he said, speaking between clenched teeth. "I have..."

And that was the last thing he said before he shut his eyes and collapsed on to her, apparently unconscious.

For a brief moment, Hikari didn't know what to do, and then she collected herself, pushed his apparently unresponsive body off of her own, and crawled backward out from under him. The new visitor was standing on the opposite side of the bed, lowering the walking stick that she supposed was responsible for Ling's sudden loss of consciousness. Uncertain if he was friend or foe, Hikari sat perfectly still for a moment, catching her breath and waiting to see what would happen next.

There was a burst of joyous laughter and shouting, but Hikari didn't turn her head to see the cause of it. She assumed that Tailmon and the partner of this newcomer were rejoicing in victory over the Gazimon, for he had no doubt been felled at the same time as his partner.

"Y-you…," said the visitor into the silence. He had finished a quick, fleeting examination of Ling Wei and, apparently satisfied that he was not going to move again any time soon, was now turning his attentions toward Hikari. She didn't dare move, so much had Ling Wei set her on edge. Part of this was fear, for she did not know what would come next, and the rest was in preparation for what might come.

The visitor stepped forward, and, as he did, the hood which had hidden his face fell backward. "You're alive…," he finished, sounding dumbstruck.

Briefly, she hesitated, and then slowly she inched forward before realizing that she would have to crawl over Ling Wei in order to reach the edge of the bed. Abandoning that route, she turned, throwing her legs over the side, and hurried around the bed.

"Daisuke?" she questioned, halting her steps. Though it must be him (unless he somehow had an identical twin somewhere), it did not seem to be him at the same time. For one thing, he was carrying a tall walking stick, and then there was the presence of a bit of cloth wrapped around his left eye.

"I don't understand," he began, and shook his head, stopping himself. He sighed deeply. "The next time you're going to not die, I would appreciate a warning of some sort. If you don't mind," he said then, and a bit of a smile appeared.

"I…," she began, and then took the two steps forward and embraced him before the tears she had been holding in escaped. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, and was both relieved and surprised to feel the hug returned so intensely.

"I suppose," V-mon said then from the doorway, to which he and Tailmon were now arriving, "that I was wrong about not seeing you again."

Tailmon was examining her claws to make certain they had not been badly damaged, and she now looked up from this task with an expression of mild surprise. "I never thought," she said, "that I would see the day that you would admit to being wrong about something."

"I'm wrong, all right? I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Happy?"

Tailmon studied him for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes," she said, and then lunged forward and embraced him before he had a chance to escape. "Very happy."

* * *

Once again I've been kind of slow in updating. Sorry.

This section was in my head for quite a while before I got around to writing it. I wasn't really sure whose point of view (Daisuke, Hikari, Tailmon, V-mon?) to write this from. I ended up writing half from his point of view and the rest from hers. I think this works well.

Thanks again for reading and reviewing, and I hope you're enjoying.


	22. Recovery

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Twenty-two**: Recovery

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:**_ Digimon_, all characters, etc, is not mine, and there's no money involved. The plot of this, however, IS mine. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo. 

Moo.

* * *

Even before the dust and snow had settled, the newly created exited was crowded with the bodies of the would-be slaves as they flocked to escape. Heedless of the danger, they swarmed through the unstable exit, and disappeared into the snowy woods beyond the village, eagerly seizing upon their first chance at freedom. Within minutes, the building was mostly empty. 

"I'm thinking we should probably get out of here," Hawkmon advised his partner, who had wisely been taking shelter in a far corner of the building. Shaking her head to clear the fog of tiredness that had come over her after causing the explosion, Miyako nodded in agreement.

"Is everyone all right?" she asked, turning toward the others. They looked a bit tired and dirty, but otherwise unharmed.

"Starved," Patamon remarked immediately, but there were no other complaints.

Overhead, they could hear a mournful wail as Li Tan's abandoned Airdramon came looking for its tamer, and outside the building they could hear footsteps as some of the villagers came looking for their prisoners. Both had been lured by the sound of the explosion.

"Take them," Miyako said to Li Tan, gesturing toward Takeru and Shijo, "and fly that way. If we're lucky, we'll make it before it gets much darker."

"Right," the tamer replied, waving toward his Airdramon so it might see where to land.

"I don't know if I much like the look of those clouds," Ken said then. He'd turned toward the sky to watch the serpentine digimon appear over the horizon, and had taken note of a group of dark clouds forming in the direction they planned to head.

Miyako turned in the same direction and muttered a curse under her breath. "Great," she said with a sigh.

* * *

"Are you sure you're all right?" Daisuke asked once more. Though this was the second time he had asked this question, Hikari felt he was likely justified in his concern. Not only had he believed her to be dead for no less than three days, but she probably now looked a bit pale. Even now, she could see that her hands were still shaking a bit. 

She nodded, and, as though to prove this point, she pulled back from the hug and looked up in his direction. "Yeah," she said, aware that her voice still sounded a bit hoarse. She cleared her throat and nodded again. "I'm all right. Are you?"

He grinned a sort of half-smile. "I've been better," he admitted, and then glanced down toward the bed, where the unconscious form of Ling Wei was still lying, unmoving. "I'm guessing he isn't a friend of yours?"

"No," she answered, and then remembered Mei Chen and turned toward the kitchen. In her hurry, she half stumbled over the curtain lying on the floor, but she then reached the side of the old healer. "This one, is, though."

"I think he'll be all right," Tailmon said from the floor nearby, where she had sat down to rest. She turned her head toward Alraumon, who was also lying on the floor a few steps away. "Hit his head on the floor pretty hard, though, it looks like. What do we do with this one?" She gestured toward the Gazimon.

"We could toss them both out in the snow," V-mon suggested, shrugging as though he didn't much care.

"No," Hikari said, shaking her head. "We're not killing anything."

"It wouldn't be killing, exactly," Tailmon pointed out.

"It would be close to it," her partner replied. "They'd freeze to death in a few minutes. The snow is pretty bad."

Tailmon shrugged, obviously not much concerned about this fact, but didn't argue any further. She turned toward the bedroom, from which Daisuke, with the aid of the walking stick, was now emerging. "What do you say, then?" she asked. "What do we do with him?"

"I don't know," he answered with a sigh. He bent over and righted a chair before sitting down. "I wouldn't mind tossing him in the snow, but that doesn't seem quite right. We could take him back to his village and ask them to deal with him."

Exactly what Hikari thought of this idea would have to wait, for at that moment all attention was turned to Mei Chen, who groaned and lifted one hand to his head. Alraumon also was blinking his eyes groggily, and, upon coming fully awake, sat up and looked around, expecting that a battle would still be going on around him. "Where – what?" he asked, and then focused his bleary eyes on Tailmon.

"It's all right," Tailmon assured him, getting to her feet so that she might assist the plant digimon. "Everything's over now."

"Is it now?" he asked, obviously confused. "Then, thou hath managed to defeat that Gazimon?"

"With a bit of help," she replied, glancing back toward V-mon, who grinned with a mixture of triumph and sheepishness.

"I see," Alraumon replied, nodding. "Thy assistance is much appreciated. Although, I admit I would have appreciated it if it had come a few moments sooner. My head is still spinning."

"It could have been far worse," Mei Chen noted, now sitting up. "Nay, I'm all right," he said then, waving aside Hikari's suggestion that he might want to lay still a few moments longer. "I've had far worse than this."

"Are you sure?" she asked, and he nodded, already beginning to get to his feet. "I'm very sorry…I didn't mean for you to get hurt."

"'Tis nothing for thee to apologize for," he replied in a scolding tone. "It wasn't thee that did any bit of harming. Ling Wei has never been a brilliant, rational sort of man." He sighed. "I can't say as this surprises me."

"Speaking of which," Daisuke interrupted, "what should we do with him?"

The healer sighed once more and got to his feet, crossing the room to a shelf of bottles that had amazingly not been toppled as a result of the chaos. Each was filled with a different colored liquid, and he now took down two different bottles before turning back to the table. "That question," he said, "is one I have been trying to answer for the last ten years."

"Why is that?"

Mei Chen set the bottles on the table and then removed three glasses from another shelf before sitting down. "That village," he said, "is beset with an illness…a plague, perhaps…that cannot be healed nor cured. It has been the belief of some that the gods cursed those people, and that they ought to be isolated from the rest of the world, in order to avoid spreading the illness to others."

He poured a bit of one of the liquid into a glass and downed it in a single gulp, sighing. "I'm not much of a healer, and I didn't come here to heal them. Still, I've offered to help ease their pain. They've mostly refused."

"Why would they do that?" Hikari questioned, having taken the third chair at the small table. Mei Chen poured a different liquid into another glass and peered at her for a long moment.

"Thy hands still shake," he noted in a somber tone. "It is no little fear that does this to a person. It is no little evil that makes one cause such fear." He passed the glass toward her. "Drink this."

She hesitated only briefly before slowly sipping the liquid. "Do you mean that the whole village is like him?" she questioned halfway through.

"Not all of it, I don't think," he replied, pouring the first liquid into the third glass. "Most, though." He turned now toward Daisuke, who was thoughtfully considering these words. "I daresay thee might need this as much as I do," he said, sliding the glass across the table.

Daisuke, too, considered the liquid for a moment before drinking. He took a few hesitant sips and then downed the rest in a large gulp. Hikari watched him do this, and then turned back toward the healer. "Pain relief?" she asked.

"In theory," he answered, replacing the bottles on the shelf. "It doesn't always work as well as we hope, and on some people and some pains it doesn't have any effect at all. Still, it's always worth a try."

"Does it help you?" Hikari questioned of Daisuke, who was looking at the empty glass with a thoughtful expression.

"Some," he answered. For the moment, his thoughts appeared to be elsewhere.

* * *

The good thing about the snow, Miyako thought, was that it helped to hide the path of their escape from the villagers. The bad thing was that it greatly hindered their progress in that escape. She felt bad for those who had escaped on foot, for many of them were either shoeless or dressed in not-so-warm clothing and might freeze before they reached shelter. 

"It probably wasn't a good idea to leave him behind," she admitted to Ken when then were in the air, making only slight progress through the snow and into the wind.

"It doesn't seem that way, no," he agreed. "Do you think you could sense him, and then follow that – instead of flying blind through this?"

They had to shout to be heard over the wind roaring in their ears, and Aquilamon was having to expend a great deal of energy simply to keep moving forward. It was hard to see through the wind and snow, but from what they could see it didn't seem as though the Airdramon was making much better progress.

"I _am_ following it," Miyako replied. "It's not that far, but it might take us an hour to get there! This wind…."

"This might be impertinent of me," Aquilamon interrupted, "but aren't you a mage who has great skill with the _wind_?"

"I don't know about _great_ skill," she mumbled, but took her partner's advice to heart and shut her eyes. Immediately, the unsteady motion of flight caused her to wobble on her perch, breaking her concentration. Then, she felt an arm wrap around her, stabilizing her position, and with Ken holding on to her she shut her eyes once more and was able to summon her ability to manipulate the wind.

Since becoming able to use her magic, Miyako had relied more upon the spells of the wind then any other. It was useful, she had discovered, for carrying messages; sending and receiving information from far off locations. It could be used to aid in the lifting of heavy objects. It had been useful when she had traveled out to sea upon a boat. Of course, it could also affect the weather.

For a moment, it seemed as though they would be caught within a tornado, for the wind changed directions so rapidly that it nearly caused a whirlwind. Then, it shifted once more so that the wind was at their backs. Aquilamon gave up on flapping and simply spread his wings wide, gliding through the storm with minimal effort. Turning his head, Ken noted the serpentine form of an Airdramon soaring quickly through the wind not far away, though he could not see anything else clearly through the thick snow.

"Not much farther now," he heard Miyako mutter quietly, and then he turned and saw the shape of the tall mountain appear before them.

* * *

Two sounds at once brought Daisuke away from his thoughts and back to the world around him. From the bedroom area they heard the faint moan of the still-unconscious (but not for much longer) Ling Wei and from the outside they heard the sound of a powerful wind suddenly battered the side of the mountain. Hikari turned toward the bedroom, but Daisuke turned his head toward the outer wall, as though hoping to see through to the outside. 

"Wha tever is to be done with him ought to be decided soon," Alraumon advised his partner. "He'll be awake before long."

"Too true," replied the old healer with a sigh of regret. "I could give him something that would aid his sleep…that at least might give us some time."

"Anything," Hikari said, "that would mean we don't have to worry about him…at least for now."

"If we're lucky," Tailmon put in, "we can leave while he sleeps, and be long gone before he wakes up."

"I'm for that," V-mon agreed, and glanced toward his partner, who was still studying the walls as though seeing beyond them.

"Sleep it is then," Mei Chen decided, and, taking yet another bottle with him, crossed the small building into the bedroom area.

The wind was battering the walls so strongly now that the bottles on the shelves rattled a bit, despite the fact that the house was constructed of stone. There were no windows, and no cracks in the solid walls, but a bit of cool breeze managed to slip in. Hikari shivered, and noticed that the firelight flickered slightly.

"Daisuke," she said then into the silence of the room. "How did you get here?"

"I walked," he answered absently, still listening to the sound of the wind. "We were trying to get out of the snow."

"Walked from where?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Somewhere by the side of the mountain. Miyako is searching for Takeru…and probably for you."

"Takeru?"

The roaring of the wind suddenly halted, and they could hear a solid thud in the snow a short distance beyond the doorway.

Daisuke nodded. "That's probably them now," he said, and started to stand up. Hikari rose before he could, placing one hand on his shoulder.

* * *

"I'll go." 

The landing, Miyako reflected, was not the worse she'd ever experienced, but it was far from perfect. Thankfully, there was snow to cushion them, and so when Aquilamon half-slid across the ground and narrowly avoided the side of the mountain, she fell from her partner's back in to a thick, fluffy snowdrift rather than onto the hard, frozen ground. Even with this help, she got slowly to her feet, careful not to further anger the pains that were now starting all over.

"You all right?" Ken asked, holding out one hand to help her to her feet. He'd managed, in his infuriatingly perfect way, to land without difficulty and so was completely unharmed. His scarf was still in place around his neck, while hers had come unraveled and thus useless.

Li Tan and his Airdramon had come to a halt a short distance away with much less difficulty, though the passengers hesitated to dismount. Since the snow and the wind here were much less oppressive, Takeru shouted across the short distance.

"Why have we stopped here?"

This was a perfectly valid question. There seemed to be nothing at all nearby. A mountain rose up on either side of them, one the mountain atop which Xiao had built his home, the other an apparently featureless rock. The narrow valley between them held nothing of interest. There were a few odd shaped rocks that might have been remarkable to someone who studied such things, but these were buried beneath knee-high snow and thus invisible.

"We have to find Daisuke," Miyako replied. "I left him somewhere around here."

"You left him in the snow in the middle of nowhere?" Takeru questioned, climbing down from the Airdramon to land in the snow with a soft thud. "If he's not buried and half frozen by now, it'll be a miracle."

Before Miyako could explain the situation further, a strange creaking sound interrupted her and distracted them all. She turned her head in the direction indicated and saw a faint bit of light appearing in the side of the mountain. After a moment, the silhouette of a person could be seen in what she assumed was a doorway.

The sun had not yet sunk, but the light of it had disappeared behind the tall mountains, thus making the valley almost as dark as night. The sky overhead was the blue that appears at dusk and fades quickly to the black of night. Faintly, Miyako thought she could smell food emanating from the door in the side of the mountain. She wondered if she was dreaming.

"Miracles have been known to happen, Takeru," said the person in the doorway.

There was a long silence. A breeze gusted through the valley, scattering the snow in the cold air. The sun sank even deeper behind the mountains. A white light surrounded Aquilamon, and he became Hawkmon once more. No one moved.

"I know I'm tired," Miyako said quietly enough that only Ken, standing nearby, could hear her clearly. "I didn't think I was dreaming, though."

"Miracles…," Takeru said then, and took a step forward. "Is that what this is?"

Hikari shook her head. "I don't think so," she answered. "I don't think any gods interfered." Still, she was smiling in a pleased sort of way as she stepped out of the doorway.

"Some sort of magic, then?" he questioned, crossing the space between them in two wide steps. "I-I saw…!"

"You can't always believe what you see," Miyako interrupted, stepping forward. "There are other senses that must be trusted." Turning toward Hikari, she said, "You seem…unharmed. Did you use that much magic?"

"I have been healing for a few days," she answered, shaking her head. "I had some help with that, and some luck."

* * *

"Why shouldn't we toss him out in the cold?" Takeru demanded, staring down at Ling Wei, who, having been given a substantial dose of the potion, was lying still upon the bed. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully. As for Takeru, a glare of anger and a stern frown were on his face. 

"Does it justify murder?" Hikari questioned quietly then. "His actions, his words, do they make it all right to kill him?"

He was quiet a moment, staring at the man, and then he turned away with a sigh. "No," he answered reluctantly. "I suppose they don't. Still, shouldn't _something_ happen to him?"

She considered this for a few moments. "He's already condemned to die…to live out the rest of his short life in a village in the middle of nowhere. What more punishment could we give him?"

This didn't seem to please Takeru, for he still was frowning severely, but he didn't argue. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the kitchen wall.

"I think that maybe your anger is misplaced," Ken said quietly. He turned his head toward the other mountain, not far away. "The person we're really angry at is Xiao. He's far more dangerous than one villager."

Again there was a long silence in the tiny kitchen. The sound of Mei Chen's concoction boiling on the fire was all that could be heard for a few moments.

Tailmon had curled into a ball and returned to her nap, this time on the floor beside the warm fire. V-mon, equally tired, was lying beside her, so close that their limbs were nearly interconnected as they slept. Snoring quietly, the blue digimon rolled over in his sleep so that one arm was lying over the feline.

"Also," Takeru said into the quiet, "Xiao will be much more difficult to deal with. We can't simply toss him out into the snow, can we?"

"We could try," Patamon interjected, "but I don't think it would work."

* * *

Sorry I've been so lazy about updating. I get really motivated to write, and then I do, like crazy, but then I never get around to posting the new chapters. D'oh. 

Nearing the end. Probably not more than 4-5 more chapters to this.


	23. Revelations III

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part twenty-three: **Revelations III

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie**: _Digimon_, all characters, etc, does not belong to me. The plot does. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

* * *

The sun rose slowly over a small encampment on the North Plains. To the south, the mountain range traveled east to west across the continent. To the north lay the capital city of the Northern Kingdom and the villages and wealth that gathered around it. To the east and west were farmlands gently blanketed with snow. In the spring, they would be covered with all manner of vegetables.

Three sturdy tents were set in the empty space between the farms, arranged in a triangle shape, with the remains of the last night's fire between them. Around the north side was curled a sleeping Airdramon, a large and fearsome serpentine digimon that snored quietly as it slept. Not far from that was a single, rather battered carriage, and near to that, a pair of Monochromon that had already awakened and were grazing on the grass buried beneath the snowy blanket.

The flaps of one tent opened then, and a single human left the shelter and emerged into the sunlight. On his shoulder was perched a small green caterpillar digimon. In the cold morning air, Ken stood and yawned, then surveyed the surrounding area.

The nice thing about having an Airdramon along was that it was not necessary to have someone keep watch all night, for the digimon was not only a deterrent to any passers-by, but also a light sleeper. Now, as Ken crossed the open space between the tents, his footsteps crunching in the snow, the Airdramon opened one large eye and peered at him.

Within one tent, Miyako opened her eyes and, realizing it was not only early but also cold, pulled her blanket up over her shoulders and buried her head in her pillow, curling up more to ward off the cold. Buried in the blankets near her feet, Hawkmon rolled on to his back and mumbled quietly in his sleep.

A few steps away, Hikari was already awake, sitting up, blankets curled around her, knees tucked under her chin. She was staring absently at shadow on the wall opposite, not really seeing much of anything. Yawning, Miyako opened one eye and noticed her.

"Awake already?" she mumbled sleepily, and then interrupted herself with another yawn. "I feel like I only went to sleep a few minutes ago."

"Sorry," Hikari replied. "Did I wake you?"

"No," Miyako answered, yawning again. "I should probably get up anyway. Not that I wouldn't mind staying under the blankets for a while. It feels _really_ cold this morning."

She pushed aside the blanket and sat up, stretching. For a long moment, there was silence as Miyako blinked her eyes to get used to the sunlight and convince herself that she was awake. After a few moments of this, she gave up and fell back again on to her pillow with a thud. Hikari turned at this sound.

"Miyako?"

"Hmm?" She opened her eyes again and took a deep breath.

"Thanks for coming after me…us." Resting her chin on her knees, Hikari wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging them close to her. "It…probably wasn't the best idea, coming north in the winter. I would have waited, but…."

"You don't have to explain," Miyako said, seeing that Hikari was reluctant to continue.

"No," she said, and shook her head. Unfolding her legs, Hikari stretched them out before her until her toes peeked through the end of the blanket. Tailmon, still asleep near her feet, stirred slightly but didn't open her eyes.

"I probably should have explained in the beginning," she continued, studying her toes. "It doesn't seem fair, now that all of you have been dragged up north and put in danger, only for some silly secret. Only because of _my_ fears."

"Fears?" Miyako echoed, much confused now.

"It's _not_ fair, really," Hikari went on, still intently watching her feet. "It isn't fair that my whole life should be determined because of some promise that my parents made before I was born." She sighed. "Even so, I should have told everyone the truth in the beginning."

"I don't understand."

"Honestly, you're not the one I ought to be explaining it to, really," Hikari said then, finally turning away from her toes. She pushed aside the blanket and got to her feet.

* * *

"I don't need any help," Daisuke mumbled crossly. Something about the cold weather or the early morning meant that he didn't much want to get out of bed, but Takeru wasn't having any of it.

"Then why haven't you gotten up by yourself?" he demanded. "Everyone else is awake. If you _can_ get up, then why _don't _you?"

"Because I don't _want_ to," Daisuke returned. He rolled over, pulling the blanket over his head, attempting to block out not the entire world, but simply Takeru. "It's too early. Go away."

"You sure?" Takeru questioned, sitting down cross-legged on his own blanket, only a few steps away. "You sure it's not because it's a hard thing to do? I can help, you know."

"I said," and his voice was muffled beneath the pillow, "that I don't need any help. Are you going to leave me alone now?"

V-mon, already awake and sitting near his partner's feet, was finding the whole situation rather amusing, though he'd wisely refrained from laughing. He was grinning widely, though. Patamon, a short distance away, was more confused by it all.

Takeru sighed, and fell silent. For a bit, it seemed as though he was going to do as requested and leave Daisuke to sleep a bit more. Then, he reached out and grabbed the edge of the blanket, pulling it aside.

Patamon's eyes grew wide and round. V-mon burst into a fit of almost-hysterical giggles.

Takeru quickly made the blanket into a ball and shoved it behind his back, then adopted an expression of utmost angelic innocence.

For a long moment, Daisuke didn't move. Then, he slowly turned his head so that he was glaring at Takeru with an expression of utmost devilish hatred. Slowly, as though the very act of moving was difficult for him, he sat up. Takeru hesitated, beginning to feel a bit guilty.

The pillow whacked him, hard, in the face, and caused him to fall backwards on to the ground. For a moment, Takeru lay stunned.

"Are you all right?" Patamon questioned. V-mon laughed even harder. Daisuke frowned – he was awake, now, which was not what he wanted – but then grinned in triumph.

"Ow," Takeru mumbled, sitting up. "That actually hurt a lot, for a pillow…."

Daisuke took the pillow back, setting it again behind him where it belonged. "There's nothing wrong with my arms," he reminded him, "and I can see well enough to make out your face."

"Yeah, so I see," Takeru agreed, shrugging. "I guess that'll teach me to make fun of an invalid."

Scarcely had these words escaped his mouth than the pillow once again floored him, this time even harder. V-mon was giggling uncontrollably now.

"Are you _sure_ you're all right?" Patamon asked of his partner.

Takeru sat up, rubbing the side of his face. "Yeah," he said cheerfully, "I guess I just don't learn from my mistakes." He handed Daisuke back the pillow. Patamon sighed.

The tent flaps rustled, and then parted ever so slightly as Tailmon's head peered in. "You're awake?" she asked, looking around the tent.

"Yeah, yeah," V-mon said, wiping a tear from his eye. "Everyone's awake. Let's go!"

"Wait a minute," Takeru called, "Where are you going?" They had already disappeared, however.

Again the tent flaps parted, and this time it was Hikari who entered, stepping over the two digimon as they hurried on by. She turned and watched them go for a moment, and then turned toward the others.

"I'm sorry," she said, "am I interrupting?"

"Not interrupting me," Takeru answered. "I've been awake for almost an hour. It was him that didn't want to get up."

Daisuke was gripping his pillow, still in his lap, with a deadly amount of strength. Seeing this, Takeru got quickly to his feet. "Well then," he said. "I think I'll go see about breakfast. I'm a bit hungry. Patamon?"

"Huh? Oh, coming!" Patamon replied, and took to the air, alighting atop his partner's head.

Hikari watched them go for a moment, and then stared at the tent flaps after they had closed.

"Hikari?"

The sound of her own name in the silence startled her, and she jumped a bit, then turned away from entranceway. "Sorry," she said. "I guess I was thinking of something else."

Daisuke was still sitting on the blanket laid on the ground, his pillow in his lap. The blanket he'd been sleeping under was in a pile on Takeru's space. His hair was rumpled from sleeping, his nightclothes – a warm, dark blue outfit – also crinkled from the night.

His left eye looked mostly normal now. It had still not returned to its normal color, but was a bit darker shade of gray than before. The bruising around it had completely healed, and so unless one looked closely, it was difficult to tell that anything was wrong at all.

Hikari, too, was dressed in her nightclothes, though she had thrown on a pale pink robe and slippers before venturing outside the tent. For a long moment now, she stood, only a step inside, and peered down at Daisuke, who was looking at her as though he was rather concerned.

Not that his fears were unwarranted, she realized. She'd been standing here for a few minutes now, saying nothing, when she must have come for some reason or other. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her mind.

"I…wanted to talk to you about something, if you don't mind," she said then. "If now isn't a good time, I could come back…."

"Now is as good a time as any, I suppose," Daisuke answered. "Especially if you don't want any interruptions."

She sighed, then crossed the tent and sat down in the spot that Takeru had vacated. Daisuke turned himself so that he was facing her, and waited.

"Are you all right?" he questioned after another long moment of further silence had passed. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine," she said. "I have something I need to tell you, and I'm not sure how to do it."

He frowned, obviously having guessed that whatever the something was, it was something serious. "Just say it," he advised.

Hikari sighed. "It's not that easy," she replied, hesitating a moment. "All right then. I need to tell you the real reason that I came north – I mean…not that the reason that I gave you wasn't the real reason. I really do want to find a way to break that spell! It was, only…that wasn't the _only_ reason."

This explanation was more confusing than anything, and so it was no surprise that it took Daisuke a moment or two to figure out what it was that she had said. "I figured that," he said then. "You don't have to give me any explanation. I came with you because I wanted to."

"I know," she answered, and sighed again. "A long time ago, my mother and my grandmother came north to arrange my parents' marriage. This," and she gestured widely to include the entire country they were now in, "is where my father is from."

This information seemed to be of some importance to Daisuke, for his eyes briefly grew wide. "Your father?" he echoed.

She nodded. "Traditionally, I think, it is the wife who must leave her home to travel when marriage occurs. However, it was very important to my grandmother that my mother stay in Yagami. Part of the arrangement of their marriage was that it would be my father who would travel, who would leave home. In doing so, the kingship of the North would pass to my uncle, his younger brother."

"They didn't want to marry your mother to the younger brother?" Daisuke questioned, briefly interrupting the story with what seemed to be a logical solution.

A light shrug was the response. "I don't know. I think, for some reason, it was important to my grandmother that it be the first son. Something about a vision she had, maybe? My mother said that my grandmother hardly ever told anyone what she saw if she had visions, and when she did, she didn't tell the whole of it."

"In any case, my mother and my father married, as we know, and lived in the south rather than the north. In order for this to happen, it was decided," and here she paused, taking a deep breath before continuing, "that, if my father were to be unavailable, his closest relative would have approval over his daughter's marriage."

Daisuke was quiet for a moment, absorbing this information, and then he frowned deeply. Once more his hands seemed to be gripping his pillow with intensity, as though he was afraid it might fly away. "That's not fair," he said then. "They can't make you – _force you_ to marry someone – because of some promise made before you were born. That's not fair!"

Hikari was studying her hands, which were resting in her lap. "I know," she agreed quietly.

"What would happen," he said then, "if you didn't go? If you didn't agree to it? If you stayed at home and never went north?"

"It was a contract they made, a treaty between the kingdoms. If I broke it, they'd have the grounds to start a war."

"A war?" he echoed, and sighed. "I suppose it's not worth it to start a war over, is it?"

"I don't know what is," Hikari replied, still studying her hands that were resting in her lap. "It doesn't seem as though it would be fair to put that many people in danger, to risk so many lives." She shook her head. "No, I…I don't think it's something that I should fight."

There was silence for a few moments. From outside, the sound of conversation filtered in. A cold winter breeze battered the walls of the tent, and the sound of the wind blowing could be heard.

"How curious," said a deep voice then, and they both turned to see that a third person was now within the tent. It was a tall person, dressed from head to toe in a cloak and hood that obscured his identity. The temperature within the tent seemed to have dropped by a few degrees at the moment of his appearance.

"Who are you?" Hikari questioned, rising up to her knees.

"You don't remember?" the other questioned, and then sighed. He turned his head toward Daisuke, who had not moved but was staring at the visitor with wide eyes. "He does. I see you have not told her, then?"

In this instant, a memory of two years previously returned to Hikari. She remembered standing on the side of the road, watching as this very figure had stood before her, blocking the progress of the vehicle in which she'd been traveling. At the time, she had paid very little attention to him, to his words, but then he had mentioned a book of dark magic.

"I…n-no sir," Daisuke was responding, and the hesitancy in his voice caused a shiver of fear to run down her spine. What was it that she had not been told? What was it that he was afraid of?

"Why not?" the visitor demanded. His voice was stern and commanding.

"I…I had forgotten," Daisuke managed to say, "I…I wasn't sure h-how to…."

"What do you want?" Hikari asked. She got to her feet, stood in the space between Daisuke and the visitor. When this question was not immediately answered, she said, "I made a deal with you two years ago, didn't I? I won't give him back."

The visitor laughed, a short bark of a sound. "Nay, princess, I have no use for him. Keep him. Keep him for all eternity if you wish it. As to your plan, I must say I approve."

"Approve?" she echoed. "Why should it matter if you approve?"

"Tell her," the visitor commanded. It appeared briefly as though he had burst into flames, and then he was gone and the fire along with him.

For a moment, Hikari stared at the spot where he had been standing, and then she turned back toward Daisuke. He, too, was staring at the spot, and, as she turned to face him, he raised his eyes so that they met hers now.

"What is it that I haven't been told?" she asked, and then dropped down to her knees so that she might see him face-on. "What is it that he wants me to know? What is it…," she added, seeing that even now he looked a bit paler than before, "that you're afraid of?"

Even now, he hesitated a few moments before he spoke. "I was supposed to tell you," he said then, and she saw that his eyes were studying a spot on the floor some distance away, though they were not really seeing it at all. "I was supposed to tell you, right away, but I didn't remember and then…things happened."

He paused, took a deep breath, and then turned away from the spot on the floor to meet her eyes. "Your father...," he began, and briefly looked away once more before forcing himself to turn back. "He still lives."

Hikari stared blankly at him for a long moment, absorbing his words. "My father?" she echoed, and then glanced briefly back at the spot where the visitor had stood a moment before. "Why would he…? Are you sure?"

Daisuke nodded. "Yeah," he said with a sigh. "He was just here."

* * *

Not only does nothing really _happen_ in this chapter, but it's also sort of short. I like it, and I hope that everyone wasn't completely bored by it. The next chapter will have what I think will end up being the very last action scene (although I could be wrong, because I am notoriously bad at planning these things in advance).

If you don't completely understand this chapter, my advice is to first go back and re-read (or read for the first time, if that's the case) _The Dark Bandit_. If you don't want to do that, then at least re-read the second to last chapter. If you're still confused, feel free to email me, and I'll do my best to straighten things out.

As I am always pointing out at the beginning of these things, this is a story in a series, and by that I don't only mean that the universe is the same, I mean that things have built on each other from the beginning. This story makes no sense to anyone who hasn't read the stories that come first. Even so, I understand that not everyone has paid as much attention to the plot as I have, and some of what I'm going to be writing in these last few chapters will draw on things that happened all the way back in that first story, which, by the way, was written some six years ago now.

Thanks for reading.


	24. Usefulness

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Twenty-Four:** Usefulness

* * *

Standard Disclaimer Thingie:_ Digimon_, all related characters, etc, does not belong to me. The plot, however, does. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

* * *

For another long moment, there was silence. Hikari's eyes were large, and she blinked them a few times before she managed to speak once more. "My father…," she began again, once more turning to the now empty spot a few steps away. "My father nearly killed you…why would he…?" She shook her head to clear her mind and then, asked once more, "Are you sure?"

Again, Daisuke nodded. "I'm sure."

She blinked a few times more, then leaned back, falling from her knees so that she was now sitting on the blanket beside him. "My father…," she mumbled again, but this time seemed not to intend to finish the sentence, only shook her head.

"I don't know anything more," he said when she slowly lifted her head again, a questioning expression in her eyes. "I told you the truth. I don't know anything about why he lives or where he was or…."

"Or why he saved your life," she finished. "Nothing?"

He sighed. "I'm still missing pieces of memories," he answered after a moment, shaking his head. "Not for lack of trying. I don't know that I knew much of anything to begin with."

"I suppose that makes sense," Hikari conceded. She rubbed at her eyes with her hands, suddenly feeling a bit tired and confused. "My father…," she mumbled again. After a moment, she glanced up once more. "My father approves?"

This was met with a blank stare. Daisuke raised one eyebrow, and then, when this unspoken query was not answered, said, "Approves of what?"

She returned his blank stare for a brief moment, as though he had asked her the color of the sky or the grass. Then, remembering that she had not actually told him what she had come to tell him, comprehension dawned. "Ah, well…," she said then, collecting her thoughts once more. She had been a bit shaken by the interruption. Even now, her mind was struggling to grasp reality.

She blinked a few times, so that she was now seeing what was in front of her rather than what was in her mind, and saw that his attention was now elsewhere. Rather than looking at her with a curious, waiting expression, Daisuke had turned his head toward the tent entrance and was looking at it as though he was expecting someone to enter at any second.

Hikari recognized the expression on his face as one of concern. "Something – ?" she began.

"I heard something…," he answered before she could finish the question, and she fell silent, listening as well.

There was a faint, distant sound, a quiet thud that was likely the footsteps of someone outside the tent. There was a quiet whisper of a noise that was not a voice, and then, slightly louder, the sound of fabric ripping. This sound was growing progressively louder.

"What…is that?" Hikari questioned. The answer came to her quite easily, for as soon as the words had left her she saw that a few tiny slits had appeared in walls of the tent. As she watched, they slowly grew larger and larger until bits of color could be seen threw the gaps. A bit of a cold breeze could be felt from the air slipping in. Then, suddenly, the whisper of a noise grew louder and the sound of fabric ripping echoed in her ears.

Before either of them could react further, a large piece of dark brown fabric came down over Hikari, so that she could see nothing all around her. At first, she was confused, but then she realized that the fabric that was burying her was a large portion of the tent. Somehow, it had been sliced apart, and the roof had crashed down upon what had once been the inside.

Panicking somewhat, Hikari struggled to push the heavy, huge fabric off of her. She had half succeeded, feeling a bit of the cold outside air greet her as she neared an exit, when the same cold air suddenly gusted sharply and all of the fabric that had once been the tent was lifted into the air and thrown aside. Some of the tent's contents were also tossed aside, for Hikari caught sight of a few blankets and pieces of clothing flying in the wind. She turned around, trying to see what had caused this to happen.

"Hikari!" she heard her partner call, and saw that Tailmon and V-mon had returned from wherever they had wandered off to. Standing at the edge of what had once been the tent, Tailmon's big blue eyes were not widened in astonishment, but narrowed in suspicion.

Not more than a few steps beyond this, the campfire had been lit, and the rest of the group had been gathered around it, warming themselves and preparing to eat breakfast. So suddenly had the tent been blown away that they were all still gathered there. Though all but Shijo had gotten to their feet, they had not otherwise had an opportunity to move beyond the spot where they had been seated.

Hikari glanced back toward where Daisuke had been and saw that he, too, was getting to his feet, eyes peering around the perimeter of the campsite. "Igamon," he mumbled quietly, so that Hikari could barely hear him. A shiver traveled down her spine. She took a step closer to him, turning her head around, hoping for a glimpse of the small digimon.

"Are you two all right?" Takeru questioned, having regained his senses. He took a step closer.

"Stay back," Hikari called to him. "It's not over."

"I don't sense much of anything," Miyako reported in a hesitant, skeptical sounding voice,

Something about the way she said this convinced Hikari that she did, and that she, like Daisuke, understood the need to pretend ignorance, at least for the moment.

Equally disbelieving, Daisuke shook his head. "He's here," he said in a low whisper. "I'm sure of it. You might want to…."

"I'm not going anywhere," she replied before he could finish. She knew what he was thinking; she was thinking the same. Xiao would not do much to harm that which he considered precious commodity, but he would, as they had seen first hand, kill in order to obtain it. "I know the risks," she continued when it seemed as though he might disagree. "I didn't agree to transfer the spell back out of ignorance."

He seemed unhappy with this decision. "…and if something happens?"

"I have no intention of dying this time," she answered, "and I'm not leaving you."

"How very amusing your ignorance is," said a voice at that moment. Everyone present immediately turned in the direction from which it came.

Xiao, dressed as ever in black that accentuated his slenderness, stood at the opposite edge of what had been the tent. He was flanked on either side by a group of at least two dozen Igamon, which immediately began to spread out, encircling the campsite. In his right hand, the trader carried a long, rather sharp sword. With his left, he made a sweeping gesture imbued with magic, once more sending the contents of the tent flying.

Takeru ducked to avoid being knocked on the head by his own slippers, which he had left lying on the floor of the tent before leaving. He was glad, to say the least, that he had not left his boots there instead. The wind grew stronger, causing all present to raise their arms to shield their eyes. The sound of Li Tan's Airdramon complaining could be heard over the roaring sound of the wind. Losing his footing, Takeru fell backwards and sat down hard in the mud.

Hikari found herself taking a few steps backward despite her attempts not to. Then she felt her feet lift briefly in the air before she landed once more, falling down into the mud. The wind halted abruptly, and she looked up to see that four of the Igamon had surrounded her. She glanced briefly around her and saw that small groups of them had surrounded the others as well. The mud, flying in the air with the wind, had quickly covered almost everyone nearby. All, that is, except Xiao.

It wasn't clear whether some sort of magic protected him or whether he was simply lucky, but not a speck of mud had managed to spot his black outfit, and he looked impeccable as ever. Turning, Hikari saw that Daisuke had been thrown by the wind in the opposite direction from her, and he was now pulling himself up from the ground, wiping the mud from his eyes as he did so. A cluster of Igamon had surrounded him, and Xiao, grinning with a strange triumphant expression, stepped closer. He lifted his left hand once more, and the wind swirled itself into a cyclone of mud that enveloped Daisuke for a brief moment before fizzling out and sending the mud spraying all over the area.

Though it wasn't immediately clear to Xiao, Hikari guessed that Miyako had managed to raise a shield around him, and that this had interrupted the cyclone of mud. Turning his head, the trader's eyes lost that triumphant expression, replaced with one of fury. These eyes caught sight of Hikari, who was at that moment getting to her feet. She met his eyes and at that instant felt her feet once more leave the ground.

"Hikari!" shouted several voices at once. Miyako turned, letting the shield that she had raised around Daisuke fall, preparing to redirect her efforts. Before she was able to do so, however, the trader once more summoned a tornado of mud that made it impossible for anyone to see anything.

Hikari could see only a swirl of mud spinning through the air all around her. She could hear only the sound of the wind blowing and the mud spinning through the air. Beyond that noise, the sound of voices crying out reached her ears, but these were muffled, and she couldn't clearly make out any of the words. Acting instinctively, Hikari summoned her magic from the depths of her soul in which it had been hidden. She could see that her hands were almost glowing, though faintly, and she focused her energy, trying to summon a greater power.

The swirling mud came closer, and breathing became more difficult as the goop splashed on to her. With desperation grabbing hold of her tightly, Hikari released the magic that had been building.

There was a bright light that seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time, and then, like a gigantic, silent explosion, it _was _everywhere. The mud stopped flying, the wind stopped blowing, and the world itself seemed to stop for a brief moment. Feeling tired, but determined, Hikari turned her head, searching through the mud-covered landscape for Xiao.

Small, silent statues of mud surrounded them now, the Igamon as enveloped as anyone. Gradually, signs of life began to emerge. Miyako swiped the mud from her eyes and shook her arms, trying to clean herself. Blobs of the thick, cold mud fell to the ground at her feet. Nearby, she saw that the others were all doing the same.

"Where did he go?" Hawkmon questioned, having shaken the mud from his feathers with one hard shiver.

This was a good question. In the space that had once been the tent (all within it now covered with mud) was Hikari, and a short distance from her, Daisuke was pulling himself up from the goop and wiping it out of his eyes once again. Xiao was nowhere to be seen.

There was silence. The Igamon quietly shook off the mud and waited. Their presence seemed to signal that Xiao was nearby, waiting for the right opportunity. Almost in unison, everyone present turned their heads from side to side, searching the nearby space for a sign of the trader.

Hikari thought she could feel a bit of the presence of darkness. Before she could react completely, Miyako said, "There!" and pointed to a spot a few steps away from where Daisuke was standing.

Before anyone could react correctly, Xiao was there, having appeared from absolutely nowhere. Spots of mud splattered his clothing now, and his normally dark hair appeared brown because of it. Daisuke was aware of nothing but the sword, which was drawn now and hovering an inch from his neck.

"If I were you," the trader said, obviously directing his comments toward Hikari as he glanced briefly in her direction, "I wouldn't pull a stunt like that again. I'm losing my patience."

"I told you," she answered calmly, pushing aside both fear and exhaustion, "you will not get what you're looking for. Go."

A small smile curved around the corner of Xiao's thin lips. 'Is he that important to you?" he questioned, and raised his free arm. "Is he so valuable? Tell me, princess, what is more important to you? His freedom, or his life?"

Daisuke flinched briefly, as though reacting to a small pinprick, and then winced. His eyes grew round and wide for a moment and then shut. Then, slowly, his feet began to rise from the ground.

"If you kill him," Hikari said, pushing aside panic, "the spell will be destroyed."

Xiao shrugged absently, as though this matter were of little concern to him. His right arm held the sword steady. His left arm was stretched out before him, manipulating the magic. He flexed the fingers of this hand, curving them inward, and everyone could see that this had the effect of depriving Daisuke of a bit more air.

"If you want him to live," he said, "you will transfer the spell. If you don't, I'll kill him."

"Put him down," she stated, speaking slowly, quietly. "Put him down and leave this place before you regret coming here."

"Regret?" Xiao echoed, finding this amusing. "I don't believe in regrets. I believe in living each moment to the fullest and regretting nothing. I have done nothing which merits regrets." He paused momentarily before continuing in an amiable, pleasant tone. "Feel free to take your time, princess. I never did manage to completely study all that I wished to study, so I will take that opportunity now, while I wait." With his free hand, he even more manipulated threads of magic.

"Don't do this, Xiao," Hikari said, for even before he had completed his task she could feel the magic, could sense that the spell was becoming more active. "It's not a good idea."

Grinning now, Xiao laughed. "Talking me out of this is very near to impossible, I assure you. I have put much thought into my plans for today, and I need no further advice or counsel."

"Hikari," Miyako said quietly in the brief silence that followed, "if you want, I could…."

Hikari shook her head and stepped forward. "No," she said. "I can handle this."

Takeru opened his mouth and took a step of his own, only to collide with Miyako's outstretched arm. She turned toward him and shook her head. "But…," he began, and she shook her head once more.

"I'm not going to talk you out of anything," Hikari said, having crossed most of the space between herself and Xiao. "I'm finished trying to talk to you; trying to sway you with words."

Takeru noticed that Ken then turned his head at the sound of something moving near the single carriage at the edge of the camp. Guessing it was more Igamon, he pushed the thought from his mind and looked back toward Hikari. Ken, however, did not turn his head.

"I have always found you a source of great amusement, princess," Xiao commented, his odd grin growing wider as he spoke. "I have lost patience, however. Make a decision before I make it for you."

The sound near the carriage grew louder, like a clattering noise, loud enough now that everyone present turned their heads toward it, even Xiao. "What's going on?" Takeru questioned in a low voice.

"If I were you," Ken said, "I would duck."

"Duck?" he echoed.

At that moment, a louder crash sounded. A large trunk fell to the ground, the lid flopping open as it fell into the snow. Barely a second later, another few boxes clattered down, and then something flew past Takeru, barely hand's-length from his face, at a very fast speed.

"What - ?" Shijo asked, for the object had sped past so quickly that it was nearly impossible to determine what it was. Before he could finish speaking, however, he saw that the object halted in mid-air beside Hikari, the only one who had not turned her head toward the sound.

It was a long, thin object with a thick, sturdy handle at one end, wrapped in a soft cloth. Hikari reached out her right hand and grasped the handle. As she did so, the cloth fell away from the object and the shiny metal of the sword's blade could be seen glinting in the sunlight.

A gasp fell over the onlookers. Xiao stared as though he were seeing the dead return to life. Then, his grin returned, even wider than before. "Be careful, princess. You wouldn't want to hurt yourself."

Hikari didn't answer, but simply moved her arm in a wide half-circle so that the sharp end of the sword was now facing forward, the tip pointing toward Xiao. So serious must her expression have been, though none of the onlookers could clearly see it, for Xiao lowered the hand which had been holding Daisuke in midair with magic. Wordlessly, he dropped down to the ground, sinking to his knees and then falling back to sit in the soft mud.

"All right then," the trader said quietly, his eyes growing serious despite his grin, "don't say I didn't warn you."

"I don't plan to go easy on you," Hikari stated.

"Um," Shijo began quietly, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group, "she does know how to use that thing, doesn't she?"

Takeru glanced toward Miyako, who turned to Ken, who shrugged absently. Li Tan raised his eyebrows so high that they nearly disappeared into his hair.

"I know," Takeru began slowly, "that she did _intend _to learn at some point..."

Patamon, perched atop his partner's head, nodded in agreement. "Yes," he recalled, "Daisuke said that he would teach her."

Miyako glanced toward Ken. "I don't know that he ever did...," she said hesitantly. Ken shrugged in a way that was not particularly reassuring.

"Well, surely she must know _something_," Li Tan said comfortingly, "or she wouldn't have decided to challenge this guy – who doesn't look like an amateur himself – to a fight."

"That," his partner Lopmon added in a low voice, "would be a sensible conclusion."

All eyes turned back toward Hikari, and though no one said it, everyone wondered if she was acting at all sensibly at that moment. The sound of clashing swords echoed in the silence. Takeru flinched when he heard it. For a few moments, there was no sound but that of metal colliding with metal.

"Well…," Li Tan said then, "she's not doing so bad."

Lopmon let out a short bark of laughter, "I've seen our own men that fought worse!"

The tamer frowned in thought a moment, and then shrugged his agreement. "That's true," he admitted.

Miyako sighed and lowered her glasses from her nose, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to fight away both the tiredness she still felt and the tension she could sense building.

"It's odd," Ken said quietly, not having taken his eyes off the fight, "I don't remember ever _seeing_ him teaching her, nor _hearing _about it…."

"But it seems as though he did, right?" Wormmon finished. "Maybe she did learn, but managed to keep it secret?"

Takeru shook his head. "Why, though?" he questioned. "Why keep something like that a secret?"

No one, not even Wormmon, had a good answer to this question, and so the group of onlookers fell into silence once more, watching the fighting for a few moments. The sound of swords clashing was the only sound that could be heard. Slowly, the morning sun crept higher in the sky.

"I was thinking," Takeru said, "that it might be possible that Hikari had learned somewhere else along the way, but… that doesn't seem to be true."

"Why do you say that?" Miyako asked, turning toward him in surprise.

"Because if I didn't know better, I'd say that Daisuke was the one fighting," Ken finished. He glanced toward Takeru, who met his eyes and nodded solemnly, frowning.

Any further conversation was interrupted at that moment by the sound of Li Tan's Airdramon letting out a cry of distress. At first, all present turned their heads toward the serpentine digimon, but then, something crossed the path of the sun, casting shadows on the ground below, and so all heads turned upward.

Miyako let her jaw drop, and then she shut it again before muttering a low curse under her breath, barely loud enough for Hawkmon to hear it. A flock of a dozen Airdramon was soaring overhead, and upon the back of each one was a tamer dressed all in black.

* * *


	25. The Fall of Xiao

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Twenty-Five:** The Fall of Xiao

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters and merchandise, etc, does _not_ belong to me. This plot, however, does. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo. Thanks for reading.

* * *

At the sight of the twelve serpents, Hikari let the sword she was holding fall to her side as she turned her head upward. A few steps away, Xiao, who had raised his own blade to attack, halted it in midair, distracted by the shadows that crossed the sun.

"Your doing?" Hikari questioned, turning toward the trader. She was surprised to see an expression of fear cross his usually serene face. It was a fleeting moment, soon replaced by a look of anger.

"I suppose you think that's funny, do you?" he muttered in a low voice. He took a step forward and swung his blade downward, finishing the attacking swipe he had begun. Hurriedly, Hikari raised the sword to block it, taking a step backward as she did so.

The mud around them exploded at the same time the weapons clashed together, the result of attacks by the arriving Airdramon. For a moment, Hikari found that she couldn't see, so thick was the goop, and then she saw the flash of light that signaled the blade of Xiao's sword slicing through it.

"If you didn't send them," she shouted over the sound of arrows landing in the mud around her, "then who did?"

"It's better for you if you don't know the answer to that, princess," the tamer replied. His face was halfway between a smirk and a serious frown. Hikari thought that perhaps she could see worry in his eyes.

* * *

"I can't see anything!" Takeru shouted in frustration. Mud was flying everywhere, arrows were slicing through the air with great speed. One narrowly missed his arm, slicing through the sleeve of his jacket and landing in the ground beside him with a solid thud.

"To the air!" Li Tan called. His Lopmon partner was grabbing tightly to his shoulders. Within seconds they had crossed the space between himself and his Airdramon, which was obviously eager to join the fight.

"Shall we?" Hawkmon questioned. Miyako had raised a shield around herself, and her partner had wisely moved in as close as possible for safety.

"It's probably safer," she agreed. "I can't see a thing!" The sound of her digivice activating could be heard dimly amidst the chaos, and then came the voice of her partner, shouting.

"Hawkmon evolve! Aquilamon!" Turning back toward his partner, the giant bird urged her onward. "Miyako!"

She hadn't hurried immediately aboard, however, but was looking around in the chaos. "Ken!" she called, but he didn't answer, and was nowhere to be seen. "I can't find him!"

"Maybe we'll see him from the air," Aquilamon proposed. A barrage of arrows chose that moment to rain down in the midst of everything, sending mud flying, and only narrowly missing the young mage. Aquilamon was not so lucky, as a few feathers were dislodged in the attack.

Hurrying back to him, Miyako climbed quickly on to his back. "It's safer than being down here, I suppose," she admitted, and a moment later they were airborne, flying above the mud and into the sight of the Airdramon.

From the ground below, Takeru watched as she took to the air, wondering to himself if the sky really was the safer place to be or if he was better off on the ground. The mud was flying everywhere, but, amidst the chaos of it all, he could see and hear the clashing of swords a short distance away.

"I'd swear," he mumbled quietly to himself, "that it really _was_ Daisuke that was fighting. It would be just like him, too, not to stop fighting even when an army of Airdramon appears."

"Do you suppose…," Patamon began, but was interrupted by another barrage of arrows as the serpentine digimon came around for another pass and their tamers fired their weapons. All philosophical theories were put aside for the moment, as both hurried for the nearest space that offered semblance of shelter – the carriage.

Shijo was already there, having climbed inside almost the moment the arrows had begun to fall. He was peering out through the large window in the door, eyes wide. When he saw that Takeru was hurrying toward him, he opened it in order to provide him entrance. A few steps before the carriage, however, six arrows lodged in the snow and mud mixture that now made up the ground. Takeru halted his steps and, in fact, took a few quick steps backward. A cool breeze rushed past him, and then an Airdramon hovered in the space between him and the carriage.

The tamer, dressed all in black, with a black hat on his head and a black scarf around his face so that only his dark eyes showed, slid down from his mount with practiced ease. A sword was at his waist, and as he stepped forward, his right hand moved to the handle. Behind him, still perched on the edge of the saddle, his partner Terriermon was aiming an arrow in his direction. Takeru had never before seen a Terriermon hold a bow with such ease, nor with such an expression of anger and hatred in its eyes. He took an uneasy step backward, and the Terriermon pulled the bowstring tighter, preparing to fire.

There was a high pitched noise then that interrupted the silence, and a bright light that filled in the space. Over the noise, Patamon shouted: "Patamon evolve! Angemon!"

* * *

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Tailmon shouted as they ran, dodging between the arrows and the spaces where the mud exploded with the force of Airdramon attacks.

"Pretty sure," Ken called back, but his words were swallowed with the sound of another explosion of mud that flew up into the sky and splattered even more over the landscape. Wormmon was riding on his head, holding on for dear life, and he was carrying V-mon in his arms as he ran. It was slower going than they would have liked, since feet were prone to slipping and sticking in the fresh mud.

Suddenly, he stopped short, and Tailmon slid to a halt beside him. A dozen Igamon blocked their path, each holding up a handful of shuriken that glinted in the sunlight, even sunlight blocked by flying mud.

"I don't think so," Tailmon said, shaking her head, and stepped forward. "Neko Punch!" With a flying leap and sharp claws, she easily sliced through the nearest ninja digimon, but a second target slipped out of the way before she could attack clearly.

"Wormmon evolve! Stingmon!" called the tiny caterpillar, transforming into a more formidable opponent. "Spiking Finish!" he shouted, and managed to impale another of the digimon on the first try, deleting it instantly. The rest of the Igamon vanished, moving too quickly for the eye to clearly see.

"Go!" Tailmon called back, already vanishing into the mist and mud, on the heels of an Igamon. "Hurry!"

"Wait!" V-mon shouted after her, but she'd already disappeared from sight. He looked up toward Ken with a rather fearful expression, and Ken instinctively tightened his grip upon the digimon lest he decide to chase after the feline.

"It's not much farther, I'm sure of it," he said in what he hoped was a reassuring voice, and dug his feet into the ground once more. They slipped and slid in the mud, but then obliged him by moving. All around, they could hear the sounds of Airdramon screeching; at one point a blast of cool air indicated that one had flown very near indeed. Arrows thudded quietly into the mud around them, missing their intended targets and standing upright in the ground. Ken willed his feet to move faster. Staying in one place for too long might be dangerous.

"I see him!" V-mon cried out then, and, before Ken could react, had leapt out of his arms and was dashing through the mud as quickly as he could, toward his partner.

Instinctively, Ken reached to grab the speeding digimon, but V-mon was gone. He turned in the direction he was heading, and saw that Daisuke was still sitting in the mud, watching the battle between Hikari and Xiao (which was surprisingly visible in the midst of the chaos). Amazingly enough, he was unharmed. A few arrows were lodged in the mud nearby, but none close enough to worry about. The air seemed to shimmer briefly as V-mon hurried toward his partner and climbed into his lap; the result, Ken guessed, of a shield intended to protect him.

"Did you teach her, in secret?" Ken questioned, stepping closer. He wasn't sure if the barrier would admit him, but it shimmered around him and moved quietly aside. It felt as though a gentle breeze had blown past, but nothing more. "She's fighting like you."

Daisuke didn't answer, didn't turn his eyes away from the battle. It was only then that Ken remembered the odd expression that had passed over his face, the way that Xiao had held him, magically, in midair. He sat down in the mud. "I see," he said then with a sigh. "That explains things."

* * *

It felt to Hikari as though she had been fighting for days. Her arms, unaccustomed to the weight of even this light sword, were aching, and her legs were tired from fighting the mud and snow beneath her feet. Xiao did not seem to be tiring, but his mind was distracted, and his attention seemed to be partially elsewhere.

Suddenly, she felt a great burst of magic, and then a strong wind separated her from Xiao, throwing both of them backwards. She flew for a short while and then sat down hard in the mud. Shielding her eyes from the wind with one hand, she looked up.

The mud and the air were swirling, as though a whirlpool had formed in the middle of the ground and was trying to suck in the rest of the world as well. From the middle of it, strangely enough, came a dark, shadowy shape.

Hikari had seen this monster before, but it had been quite some time since then. Fear grabbed hold of her for a bit, and got the better of her, for she stumbled backward a short distance before she stopped herself, reasoning that it would not be useful to run.

To her surprise, however, Xiao had dropped to his knees, letting the sword in his hand fall to the ground uselessly beside him. It vanished, half eaten by the thick mud. "Master!" he cried out in a pitiful, wailing sort of voice. "Please! I – it is only – only a little more time, please!"

"I have no patience any longer," replied the dark shape, and with his voice all fighting and battling halted. The Airdramon halted in midair, hovering in suspense. Aquilamon, too, was still, Miyako watching from afar. The tamers and their partners held their weapons still, some of them with arrows poised upon their bows, ready to launch at any moment yet not.

"Master!" Xiao said once more, his voice now sounding as though he might burst into tears. "I have nearly succeeded, do you not see?"

"Do you think I am blind?" came the answer. "Do you call the master of all dark shadows a fool?"

"No!" the tamer said, gasping in horror. "I meant – that is…."

"Enough. Return to whence you came."

The monster raised one arm, a solemn gesture that now sent the tears bursting from the tamer's eyes without hesitation. The mud in which he knelt seemed to become darker then, as though a rain cloud had formed in the small space directly above his head. "No! Please!" he cried, and all the while the mud was rising, or perhaps he was sinking.

And then he was gone.

The Igamon, who had been before standing still, shuriken in hand, now lowered their weapons and vanished as quickly as they had arrived. Nothing else moved.

The whirlpool which had been slowly churning beneath the dark shadow now increased in intensity, spinning and whirling faster and faster. The monster Demon was sinking into the ground once more.

As he sank, he turned, and his eyes, filled with hatred and darkness, caught sight of two humans protected beneath a magical barrier a short distance away. Neither was moving.

"Destroy them," said the master of all dark and shadows, and then he was gone as well.


	26. Evolution2

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Twenty Six: **Evolution2

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters and merchandise (and money) do not belong to me. This was written for fun and not profit. Plot, however, _is_ mine. So there. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

* * *

Hikari let the sword she had been holding drop to her side, though she did not release her hold upon it. She stretched out her free hand, releasing the magic with more intensity than before. The barrier she had erected grew stronger - but would it be enough to keep out an attacking army?

The skies were filled with Airdramon and tamers, with Lopmon and Terriermon, with a hundred bows and arrows aimed toward the ground. The twelve serpents blocked the morning sunlight. Tailmon, who had been battling with Igamon, was suddenly alone in the empty space.

Stingmon, Angemon, and Aquilamon were already in the air, along with Li Tan and his Airdramon. They had been fighting since the serpents' arrival. All activity had momentarily paused with Demon's arrival, and, on his orders, the tamers had abandoned these opponents to focus entirely upon the appointed target.

"Blast Laser!" shouted Aquilamon, and lunged for the nearest serpent. The tamer upon him, however, was quick to react, and immediately shifted focus toward the attacker. The serpent evaded the attack with only a short distance to spare, and the tamer himself shifted his position and aimed his arrow toward Miyako and her partner.

Aquilamon was not prepared for the arrow, and nor was Miyako. Quickly, they dodged, and almost immediately a second tamer aimed an arrow toward the mage.

"It might be safer on the ground!" Aquilamon shouted, but Miyako only gripped his feathers tighter and urged him onward. Li Tan, quick with an arrow of his own, fired a shot toward the Airdramon tamer who had fired upon Miyako, thus beginning the battle of arrows.

The Airdramon who were not engaged in air combat were free to pursue their intended goal. Their riders notched their arrows and fired. Thankfully, the missiles bounced off the invisible barrier shield.

Angemon, who had not previously been engaged in combat, dove into the fray, whole-heartedly swinging his rod and injuring a few of the Airdramon. One tamer received a blow to the stomach and fell from his mount to land upon the ground with a sickening sort of thud. Before long, all of the serpents and their riders were involved in defending themselves from attack and none of them were firing arrows nor attacks toward the ground at all.

Hikari relaxed visibly, and breathed a heavy sigh. She did not lower the shield she had raised around Daisuke (and Ken) but she did lower the arm that had been reinforcing it. She took a few steps toward the barrier herself, but was interrupted by a shout from Takeru, who had only recently left the safety of the carriage.

"Hikari! Something is coming! Something else!"

The tone of his voice suggested that he was very concerned about whatever this something might be, but before he could clarify or she could ask him to explain himself, a cold chill gripped the air. From above, if Miyako had been paying attention, she would have seen a dozen dark holes appear in the ground, similar to the holes that Demon had risen from and Xiao had sunk into. She was busy with other matters at the moment, however, and these holes were only visible to magical sight.

Instead, what Takeru and Hikari saw at that moment was only about two dozen odd-shaped greenish mounds rising from the earth like bubbles on the surface of a lake. Slowly, they rose higher, and higher, and then they could see that they were not simply green bubbles, but Ogremon. Large, ugly green digimon, covered with warts and boils, with grotesque, sadistic grins upon their faces, now filled the once empty plains.

Takeru muttered a curse under his breath and pulled a sword from somewhere within the carriage (he had been searching for one while taking shelter) and then lunged toward the nearest ogre with a shout. The ogre in question turned quickly to face his attacker and easily blocked the sword with his massive club. It then stretched one arm over its head and brought down his weapon in a wide swing that Takeru quickly and narrowly managed to dodge. Another Ogremon a few steps behind him swung his own club, and once more Takeru only narrowly avoided the attack.

"Agumon!" Shijo called out, obviously quite distressed by these tight escapes, and his partner nodded. From the doorway of the carriage, the small dinosaur opened his mouth and breathed fire toward the Ogremon, injuring it slightly.

"Stay back!" Takeru urged, knowing that Agumon would be almost useless against the larger, stronger Ogremon. Frustrated both with himself for his own uselessness and the situation around him, he forced his mind to try to remember a never completely learned skill. His feet moved quickly away from the ogre who was attacking him, but the ogre that Agumon had injured swung his own club wide. It smashed into the side of the carriage, causing a great dent to appear. Shijo, frantic now for safety, climbed out of the vehicle and ran to the far side of it, hoping to avoid any further attacks.

"Takeru!" came the voice of his partner, but Angemon was otherwise occupied with his own problems and would be unable to assist. "Trust yourself!"

Takeru mumbled a few not so pleasant words to himself, for so often had both his partner and Hikari uttered these words, and so rarely had he completely understood what they meant. It had _something_to do with magic, but trust and belief were completely different from practical knowledge, and he didn't understand how he was supposed to use magic when he'd never been trained to do so. He shut his eyes momentarily, trying to remember what it had felt like when last he'd managed to raise a shield, but that had been two years ago, and he'd had a crystal to assist him. On his own, he couldn't do any such thing.

He stumbled backward, trying to avoid the club of the Ogremon, and sat down hard in the mud. Mind whirling, head spinning, he raised his sword to block the attack, and the blade of it sank deep into the wood of the ogre's weapon. Undaunted, the ogre roared its frustration and swung his large free arm toward his opponent.

_No choice, no chance,_ Takeru thought to himself, _Is this what it is to die?_

* * *

The shield held. Four Ogremon in unison slammed their fists and feet and clubs into the invisible wall, but it did not break. With each impact, Ken instinctively flinched, waiting for the one that would find a weakness and break through, but none did. Still, they continued their pursuit, undaunted.

He could see nothing beyond the wall, could see nothing at all but the green of Ogremon skin and the wood of their clubs. He could hear nothing but roars and thuds as they continued their task with single minded purpose and determination.

In the sky, the battle continued as before, as though the Ogremon had never appeared. Arrows were flying everywhere, Aquilamon was forced to evade like never before, and it was all Miyako could do to hold on to his feathers tightly and not fall to the ground. She was not aware of the Ogremon, nor was she much aware of what was occurring in the battle she was involved in.

From nowhere, or so it seemed to her, an arrow flew closely near her head. She did not remember afterwards having released her hold upon her partner's body, but she must have done so, because then she was falling through the air. Aquilamon, quite concerned with a serpent that was flying very closely near his head, was not even immediately aware of her departure. Thankfully, she reacted quickly, hurriedly using her magic to slow her fall so that she landed gently upon the ground. She glanced upward to see an Airdramon and her partner very narrowly avoid collision.

The ground, she saw, was filled with Ogremon. Almost immediately, one of the monsters, noticing her arrival, began to move toward her, and Miyako instinctively took a few steps backward, only to realize that she was actually moving a bit closer toward another group of them heading in the same direction.

"Get…back," she heard a voice mutter in frustration and anger, and she heard the unmistakable sound of a sword's metal as it clanked against the thick skin of an ogre's back.

Miyako shut her eyes briefly, remembering a long-ago seen page in a magical textbook. She curved both of her hands into cups, facing palm up. A flash of magical spark ignited in the air above each hand, and then shortly afterward exploded into a ball of flame. She lifted her right arm and pulled back, tossing the first ball toward the Ogremon directly in front of her. Upon contact with the ogre's skin, it spread out and then quickly engulfed the creature fully. At first, it seemed merely confused, and then it began to bat at the flames as though they were a minor annoyance. Before long, however, it was completely aflame, and the stupid digimon deleted with a shout of frustrated anger.

As she was not so skilled with throwing while using her left arm, Miyako lowered the second fireball to the ground and allowed it to spread toward the group of Ogremon that were nearby. These flames did not immediately engulf any of the monsters, but spread out in a wide circle so that they surrounded the small group.

The sound of a sword clanking could be heard, and Miyako followed the sound to see that Hikari was still swinging the weapon at the Ogremon, trying to hack through the crowd of them. As the magical fire spread, surrounding the group of them, Hikari stepped back instinctively to avoid the flames. A brief look of confusion passed over her face, and then she turned toward Miyako.

"No!" she shouted across the distance. "They're inside – the Ogremon have surrounded them!"

Miyako frowned briefly – this ruined her plans to destroy a large group of the digimon – and then modified the magic. The line of fire now spread between the monsters and, forcing them aside, cleared a path through the crowd.

* * *

The Ogremon brought down its massive arm, and its palm smashed into nothingness with such force that the shockwave briefly reverberated through its bones and caused it some minor discomfort. Groaning with pain, it dropped the club and the sword imbedded within it to the ground, giving Takeru barely enough time to remove the blade of his weapon from the club.

Some sort of strange sensation was pulsing through his right arm – he could feel it even as he gripped the sword once more. _Is this magic_? he wondered to himself. _Is this what it feels like?_

The ogre recovered quickly from the minor setback it had experienced. More enraged than before, it took its club from the ground and swung it in a wide arc toward Takeru, who instinctively took a step back and, switching the sword to his left hand, raised his right.

Once more, the ogre's attack slammed into nothing. It pulled back its club and brought it down once more, and then once more after that. Almost dumbfounded, Takeru stared at the space where the club was hitting, waiting, expecting to see something, _anything_ there. His mind whirled, trying to remember when he had seen Miyako raise shields. Always, there had been some hint that there was_something_, but this? This was completely invisible! Why was that?

Before he could completely wrap his mind around the possibilities or further explore the situation he was in and its implications, Takeru's attention was drawn to the sound of splintering wood, as the other ogre's club had once more done great damage to the carriage. Shijo and his partner Agumon were dodging the blows with only inches to spare.

Realizing that he must shift his focus from his own defense to either offense or defense of others, Takeru shifted his feet, slowly circling the Ogremon before him, which was even now relentlessly and uselessly pounding his club into the solid wall of nothingness which prevented the successful elimination of his opponent. Undaunted, the ogre continued to swing its club, and the shield continued to hold.

The odd tingling sensation in Takeru's right arm briefly grew stronger. Only now did he briefly see some flash of light, and then the Ogremon took a step backward, as though questioning what it saw.

_Maybe_, Takeru thought, _if I could expand this shield – if that's what it is – is that what it is?_

Thinking about it, trying to explain the situation to himself in a way that made sense, seemed impossible. "How can I do something if I don't know what I'm doing?" he questioned allowed, directing the question half toward himself and half toward his partner.

"Trust yourself!" Angemon called back unhelpfully. "You have to do it without thinking about it!"

"That's completely false!" Takeru retorted. "Koushiro does nothing _but_ think about things, and he's a great wizard!"

Angemon had no response to this, perhaps because he was otherwise engaged in battling the Airdramon. In any case, Takeru decided it wouldn't hurt to at least try to follow his partner's advice. He focused his mind and his energy upon his right hand, which was now tingling so much it felt as though it had fallen asleep and was only now trying to regain feeling.

The Ogremon had raised its club for attack once more, but now, with its arms still positioned almost comically above its head, its feet began to slowly slide backwards, digging into the mud and dirt as the magical field expanded and pushed against the weight of the ogre. Roaring out his displeasure, the Ogremon struggled against the force of the magic, but didn't seem strong enough to break through it. Takeru took note of this, but, rather than dwelling upon it, pushed into the back of his mind and focused his attention even stronger upon the strange sensation in his right hand.

The field of magic expanded farther, spreading out across the open space. When it reached the half-destroyed carriage, it encountered another ogre, which it continued to push back, away from the boy and his Agumon who were taking shelter behind and beneath it. Taking note of the situation, Shijo poked his head out from under the vehicle and watched with wide eyes as both the ogres were pushed back through the mud and dirt.

"Shijo!" Takeru shouted. "Get over here!"

Immediately, Shijo picked up his partner in his arms and hurried through the mud and half-melted snow to Takeru, until he was standing beside him. The Ogremon, who had been fighting against the magic for some time now, finally were forced to give in, and both sat down hard in the mud. Feeling suddenly drained and exhausted, Takeru released his focus and the strange feeling in his hand faded away completely.

Before anything else could happen, a line of fire spread across the open space, fueled by nothing and yet extending outward. It halted only a short distance before the carriage, and created a barrier between Takeru, Shijo, Agumon, and the Ogremon, which were already getting to their feet. The flames leapt higher into the air, effectively dissuading the ogres from attacking once more.

Takeru turned his head the direction that the flames had come from, and was not surprised to see Miyako in that location. She was crouched low to the ground, her left hand placed, palm down, on the ground. The fire was spreading not only toward Takeru and Shijo, but in the opposite direction as well, and in two other directions at the same time, so that the flames were forming a giant X-shape in the ground. He turned to walk toward her, and was surprised to find that his vision momentarily became blurry and the strength in his legs faltered. Shijo, who had been staring wide-eyed at him for the past few moments, reached out and took his arm before he could fall into the mud.

"Careful," he said. "I guess that must have taken a lot of energy, right?"

"I guess," Takeru admitted, straightening up. He looked at his right hand for a few moments until it was no longer blurry-looking.

They reached Miyako a few moments later, at the same moment that she was rising once more to a standing position. A number of the Ogremon had been deleted, though not all, and a number of others were injured, some badly. The mage turned her gaze skyward in time to see her partner fly overhead at a considerable speed, his attacks burning damage into the Airdramon he was pursuing.

Hikari was enjoying no such respite, but was pummeling the nearest Ogremon with the blade of her sword. As it was already damaged badly by the fire, a few quick swipes were all that was needed to delete the ogre.

"Baby Flame!" called Agumon, eager to assist, and managed to delete an Ogremon of his own. Only a few of the ogres remained now, and they were all in no condition to cause trouble. A few had actually sat down on the ground, too weak or badly injured to stand any longer.

"Somehow," Takeru said, surprising himself with how tired he sounded, "I don't think it's over."

Hikari had lowered her weapon and was frowning at the nearest Ogremon with an unusually intense stare of displeasure. "No," she mumbled, deepening her frown, "not yet." She sighed deeply, and then turned her head toward the others. "Miyako," she said, "do you think you could…."

Before she could finish the sentence however, an icy cold chill seemed to fill the air. A shadow passed over the sun, though it was not possible to determine what caused it. Then, the sound of an Airdramon screeching pierced the eardrums of everyone present.

"What - ?" Takeru questioned, and in the din of noise his voice sounded no louder than a whisper. He dropped the sword he'd been holding and put both his hands over his ears.

The tamer and the Lopmon which had been riding one of the Airdramon went flying, landing with a terrible thud in the mud below. A darkness seemed to be engulfing the serpentine digimon, and it seemed to be causing it some pain, if the noise it was emitting was any clue as to its state of mind.

"I think it's evolving," Miyako shouted as the high pitched screeches grew slowly deeper in pitch and the shape of the digimon seemed to be changing somewhat.

The darkness suddenly vanished, replaced with an odd, dark sort of bright flash that temporarily blinded all present. When he could see again, Takeru saw that the Airdramon had indeed evolved, replaced with a different sort of serpentine digimon. This one appeared more powerful than its previous form, and its wings appeared to be formed of metal rather than skin. Now, instead of a bone casing protecting its face, a fierce metallic mask of armor shielded it. It had arms now, as well, and odd, metallic hands at the end of them.

"What is that?" Miyako questioned in the stunned silence.

"Giga Dramon!" shouted the digimon, as though in response to the question. Its voice was deep and powerful. As though in approval, or perhaps respect, the remaining Airdramon screeched out an answer to this, a cacophony of noise that filled the open plains.

The mouth of the Giga Dramon curved into a smile, and its yellow eyes almost glowed in the morning sunlight.

The metallic points upon the ends of its hands were actually formed from three separate points which had come together. Now, these sections separated, revealing a space between them, and the digimon moved both his massive arms in front of him. A glowing ball of energy formed at the end of each of his arms, and slowly grew larger.

"Uh-oh," Agumon said, eyes growing wide.

"Reinforce that shield!" Miyako shouted, raising both her own arms. "We won't get there in time, we can't stop it, so shield against it!"

Hikari had been staring at the newly-evolved digimon with a similar shocked expression as Agumon, and now she turned that same face toward Miyako. "You think that will stand a chance?"

"We don't have a choice," she replied, gritting her teeth. "We have to try."

"But…," Hikari began, and looked up at the glowing energy in the sky.

"It's the only possible chance!" Miyako said, and now turned toward Hikari, revealing a bit of desperation in her eyes. "We _have_ to try."

"Genocide Gear," stated the Giga Dramon in a calm, slightly amused voice, and fired its attack.

Takeru could hear the sound of the digimon's attack, a loud whooshing noise as it gathered the necessary energy into a single stream of deadly power. He could see Hikari and Miyako, both struggling to reinforce the shield around Daisuke and Ken, quite some distance away.

He could hear a high pitched beeping noise.

The stream of power crossed the sky and crashed into the magical shield with a loud explosion of light.

"Tailmon evolve!" called a voice above the cacophony.

More distantly, another, deeper voice was calling, "Aquilamon evolve!"

A third voice then shouted, "Silphymon!"

* * *

An interesting fact that I learned while writing this: it is possible for Silphymon to evolve from Airdramon. I did not know that when I was planning this section in my head.

Computer problems continue to slow my progress. Also, I am a master at procrastination. I would like to say I am back on track now, but I can make no guarantees.

I estimate 4-5 more chapters. Perhaps less. Perhaps more. Thanks for your patience.


	27. The Palace of the North

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Twenty Seven: ** The Palace of the North

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters, merchandise, and money, is not mine. Plot, however, is. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

* * *

Even though the magical shield was transparent, apparently made only of light, it was difficult to see through it. The world beyond was slightly out of focus, as though looking through a big piece of old glass.

Ken could feel the dark power building before he could see anything, and then the sound of the screeching Airdramon pierced the silence and halted all activity on the fields. Even Daisuke, still connected to the spell and thus somewhat shielded from the real world, scrunched up his eyes and turned his head away. It wasn't until long after that Ken wondered if he had done that of his own free will.

He could not hear Miyako's shouted guess that the Airdramon was evolving; she was too far away and the noise was too loud. He came to the same conclusion on his own, however, and in the space of time between the evolution's completion and the first attack of the Giga Dramon, he came to the same conclusion as Miyako: reinforce the shield.

Had Daisuke been of any use, it would have possibly been more expedient to evolve their partners, but, although V-mon was known to evolve whilst the spell was active, it was not likely. For XV-mon and Stingmon to merge was a completely different story, however, because it required a decision.

Thus, Ken reluctantly but immediately dismissed that option and delved into his rarely used own supply of magic. Instinctively, for he had willingly forgotten most of what he had once learned, he added his own power to their defense and raised his own, slightly smaller shield within the larger outer barrier.

Then, everything seemed to happen in an instant, and all at once. The bright light of the attack of the Giga Dramon appeared to be everywhere, and then, suddenly, it was gone. Over the sounds converging in his ears, Ken thought he could hear another voice, previously unheard.

"Top Gun!" it was shouting, and then he heard the deep voice of the Giga Dramon cry out in pain and anger.

Through the multi-layered shield, Ken could make out two slightly blurry forms in the sky above. The massive gray figure of the Giga Dramon was lunging out against a smaller, fast-moving digimon that he had never seen before.

It appeared to be some strange combination of bird and cat, with feathers and fur all mixed together. Though its feet were the claws of a bird, its hands were like massive feline paws, and both feathers and feline ears protruded from its head. The red-brown color of Aquilamon and the white and purple of Tailmon that were present throughout led Ken to the correct conclusion that the two digimon had evolved together.

"Well," said V-mon in the relative silence that followed. "That's a good thing."

Ken released the shield he had raised, relieved that the extra-strong power of it had managed to protect them from the strong, though briefer than expected attack.

The invisible walls were fading, and the world beyond was clear once more. Hikari and Miyako were there, standing at the boundary. Almost immediately, Hikari dropped down to her knees in the mud and reached for Daisuke.

"Are you all right?" Miyako asked, and then quickly turned her eyes skyward once more as another mini explosion of light flashed in the sky. Ken nodded.

"Yeah," he replied, "it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." He turned his eyes in the same direction she did. "Thank goodness for that."

She turned back to him, a knowing look in her eyes, and he knew then that she had sensed the magic he'd used, even in the midst of the chaos surrounding them.

Hikari had been busy, releasing the spell once more, and, having completed that task, was looking over Daisuke with some scrutiny.

"I'm fine," he said as soon as he was able. "Covered with mud, that's all. Are you?"

"Tired," she confessed, and then, like Miyako, briefly glanced upward as another burst of light exploded in the sky. "I know you're probably not up to it, and I hate to ask you, but we're going to need the help…."

He nodded before she could finish, glancing up toward Ken, who nodded as well. V-mon, eager to get started, grinned widely and called out, "V-mon evolve! XV-mon!"

Stingmon, who had been a short distance away, sounded as cheered by the prospect as well. "Stingmon evolve!"

"XV-mon evolve!"

"Paildramon!"

* * *

Three of the Airdramon tamers had fallen to the ground. Though it wasn't clear if the fall had immediately killed them, all three were lying battered and broken in the mix of mud and snow that covered the plains. Their comrades collected them and fled on the serpents that remained long before Giga Dramon was defeated.

"Should we go after them?" Takeru wondered, but even as he spoke, Angemon had de-evolved, leaving a tired Patamon to rest upon his head.

"I would guess that's a no," Agumon noted.

"We're in no condition for battle," Miyako said, agreeing with Patamon. She was holding Poromon in her arms, her own partner greatly exhausted. Already the tiny pink bird had fallen to sleep, eyes drooping heavily.

Hikari's partner, too, had become Nyaromon, who had also decided that now was the time for napping. Though none of them were injured, everyone was tired and covered in mud. Takeru looked as though he could barely stand, and Hikari was not even bothering to try. She had sunk down into the mud in order to release the spell, and had not gotten up again.

"Now what?" Shijo questioned, looking around them all. The campsite was completely destroyed. Objects were strewn all over the ground, some of them completely buried in the mud. One of the tents had been completely destroyed, blown away by Xiao's arrival, and the other two were badly damaged so that little shelter could be taken within them.

No one had a ready answer to the question Shijo posed. The carriage that had traveled with them all the way from home was on its last wheels. Two Monochromon had pulled it. One of them had either fled or been deleted, and the other was so badly injured that it would likely not live to see the next day's sunrise. The carriage itself had been dented and broken in three places by the force of Ogremon clubs. That which had been within it and atop it was now strewn through the mud.

They could not stay here, and they could not travel further. The carriage was too badly damaged to move, even if they had anything to pull it with, and no one was strong enough to walk very far.

It was mid-afternoon by now, and as they had been in the midst of breakfast when interrupted, everyone was hungry. Whatever food supplies there had been were now half-buried in the mud.

Giving into that which had tempted him for quite some time now, Takeru sat down in the mud, using the last of his strength to avoid lying down in it. Miyako, Hikari, and Daisuke were also seated in the muck and mire, the girls both looking as though it was an effort to stay awake.

"I don't know," Miyako said into the silence. "I need a bath. I need food. I need sleep. I don't know how we're going to get any of those things."

Exhaustion overtook her, and she lay down, ignoring the mud and cold. Takeru watched her and then he, too, let his eyes close and collapsed to the ground.

Hikari had shut her eyes a few minutes before all this, but she was leaning on Daisuke and so no one noticed except for him. He sighed and looked up toward Ken, who was peering out over the horizon with a frown.

"Do you see anything at all?" Daisuke questioned.

"Yeah," Ken said. "I see an army approaching."

* * *

They were impeccably dressed, as was to be expected of an army, though they were a smaller regiment than Ken had originally estimated. Three dozen identically dressed soldiers were present, each one dressed in the same black pants and dark red jacket. Each one had dark hair and steady dark eyes. A black cloak was thrown over each shoulder, and a few of the men had pulled their hoods on. About half also wore scarves. The only one that stood out, apparently the commander of it, wore a black hat with flaps to protect his ears.

So quickly had they arrived that Ken, Daisuke, and Shijo, the three who were not asleep, had no time to prepare. The commander of the group, who was also the only one with a beard, cast his dark eyes over the disheveled space.

For a long moment, no one spoke, and then the man said in a deep, crisp voice, "Thou art of the southern lands?"

His accent was thick and heavy, so that for a moment it seemed as though he was speaking another language entirely. Daisuke glanced toward Ken, who glanced back at him for a brief moment before he managed to decipher the question.

"Yes," Ken said in response. "Who are you?"

In response, he straightened his posture. "Commander Nakajima, third battalion of the King's Guard," he replied. "Who art thou?"

"The King's Guard?" Daisuke echoed. "So we're near the capital?"

"Two hours walk," Nakajima replied, and pointed northeast, "that way."

"Well," V-mon said, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "That's a relief."

"Who art thou?" Nakajima repeated. "Where art thou headed?"

"We're headed for the capital," Daisuke replied, and turned his head toward Hikari, who was still sound asleep on his shoulder.

* * *

The King of the North, Miyako decided, was either very rich, very generous, or very eager to impress his niece and her companions. He had not only given each of them a large, rather luxurious room to sleep in, but also quite a bit of nice clothing and several dozen servants to help them all figure out exactly how to manage to put it on. This was very helpful, as a few of the clasps, buttons, ties, and fasteners looked more complicated than anything she had ever seen in her life, though the completed outfit didn't look too terribly different from anything she'd worn before.

The dress was composed of a long, dark blue skirt trimmed with a darker shade of blue. The sleeves were the same color, but the bodice was of a slightly lighter tint. Exactly how the fabric was all sewn together Miyako could not quite figure out, but the result was beautiful. She spent a good deal of time staring at it in the mirror trying to figure out the logistics of it all, and was still doing so when she heard a quiet knock on her door. Before she could move to answer it, it opened, and she saw that Ken had poked his head around the frame with a questioning expression.

"I was beginning to wonder," he said, "if something had happened."

"No," she answered, turning around so she could attempt to figure out the configuration from the back. "I'm only looking at myself, that's all."

Perhaps because he couldn't figure out an appropriate response to that, Ken said nothing, but stepped the rest of the way into the room and shut the door behind him. He was dressed in similar shades of dark blue, and, as with Miyako's outfit, the clothing did not seem terribly different in any definite way, yet definitely was different.

The differences here were a bit easier to determine, Miyako decided, momentarily abandoning study of herself to focus upon Ken. The crisp white shirt had a collar that was a little bit higher and stiffer than what was fashionable further south, and there were a few fluffy little ruffles attached to the ends of the sleeves. The jacket was not buttoned with the same sort of buttons as were usually seen, but fastened with some strange metallic contraptions.

Aware of the sudden scrutiny, Ken tugged at the end of one sleeve. "You don't like it?"

"No," she replied immediately. "I like it. It's…different, that's all."

"Different," he agreed, being a bit less obvious with his own observations. "Not covered in mud, that's the important part, I think."

"Well, yes," Miyako conceded. "That's definitely an improvement." She turned back to the mirror and once more became captivated.

"How are you feeling?"

"Feeling?" she echoed, having completely forgotten the fact that a few hours earlier she'd been too tired to even stand. "Oh, right. I'm all right. I was tired, that was all. Nothing that a bit of rest won't cure. I'll be a bit shaky, magically speaking, for a day or so, but nothing serious."

"You used a lot of magic," he stated, and she nodded.

"I'm a little out of practice," she admitted. "It's not a good idea to suddenly use so much in one day – in the span of a few hours – but I'll recover. Speaking of magic…."

"There isn't really anything to talk about," he replied with a shrug.

"Are you sure about that?" she questioned. "Magic isn't something you have to run away from, you know. It can be quite useful."

He didn't reply to this, but simply stared at her.

She sighed. "Look, if it's stayed with you this long, and you can still access it, then that means that it's a part of you, and not something evil."

"What if it's the evil part?" he returned, raising one eyebrow.

Miyako sighed again and threw her hands up in an expression of exasperation. "If you're not going to take this seriously, then there's no use trying to discuss it. All I'm saying is that it might be something you might want to explore."

Once more he said nothing, but stared at her silently. They'd had this conversation before, and he wasn't interested in having it again.

Giving up, Miyako abandoned the conversation. A short distance away, a pair of shoes had been left for her, and she sat down and began to put them on. Though they were different from what she usually wore, they at least went on easily, and were laced up in the familiar manner.

"Miyako," Ken said suddenly, and she looked up from her shoes at the sound of her name. He was staring out the window, having quietly crossed the room, eyes apparently focused on something of interest in the space beyond. "You saw it, didn't you?"

She had finished the right foot and so now lifted the left shoe. "I did," she answered, and then slid her foot into it. "I have not become so lazy that I cannot see magic any more, at least."

"How did it look?"

Halfway through lacing the left shoe, Miyako paused briefly and looked at him, but Ken did not turn around. "Like magic, I suppose," she answered then, and pulled the strings tight.

"That's not what I meant," he replied. "How did it look? Did it look like…."

"The thing you _still_ do not understand about magic," Miyako interrupted, in the midst of tying a bow, "is that, firstly it exists on a spectrum of grays. Secondly, the magic does not make the person, the person makes the magic."

As she had predicted, he didn't understand this statement, and so turned away from the window to fix a confused expression on her.

"Magic," Miyako went on, straightening her skirts as she stood once more, "is not evil or good or anything like that. Only people can be like that. People are never…well, _almost_ never…completely good or completely evil. There is always good in the evil and there's evil in the good."

"You believe that's true?" he questioned. "Even of someone like me? Even of…of Hikari?"

"Of course," she answered. "You're not completely evil! You never were! With all due respect to the princess, she's not completely good, either. She has her own thoughts which are not completely good and wholesome. She doesn't usually act on them, of course, and they're not seriously evil thoughts, but they're there."

Ken pondered this a moment.

"As Koushiro once told me, and as I've been trying to tell you for the last two years, magic doesn't make someone a certain way. A person makes the magic a certain way. Hikari's not good because her magic is good, her magic is good because she's good. Xiao wasn't evil because someone gave him evil magic. His magic was dark because his soul was dark."

"So you think the same was true for me?"

"I_know_ it was," she answered.

"Earlier," he went on, "how was it? How did it look?"

"It looked like you," she answered with a shrug.

* * *

The pillow was soft and silky. The blankets were warm, dry, and comfortable. Hikari, half awake, resisted the urge to open her eyes and instead rolled on to her side and nestled herself deeper in the blankets. This was so much nicer than mud….

She opened her eyes abruptly and looked around her. She was indeed lying in a large, soft bed, free of mud and snow. The room was cozy and warm, and she could hear a fire crackling nearby. She sat up.

The bed was covered with dark red satiny sheets and blankets and pillows, and a similarly colored canopy was draped over the top of it. Beyond this, the room was spacious and richly decorated. It was emptied of people.

Nyaromon was sleeping at the foot of the bed, snoring lightly. Hikari looked at her for a long moment.

"So it wasn't a dream…," she concluded, and then looked down at herself. She was dressed in a warm, long nightgown. "Where…?"

A door somewhere opened off to the left and she turned her head, trying to see who might be entering. Wherever the door was, however, it could not be seen from the bed. For a long moment, she debated whether to lie down and pretend to still be sleeping.

Before she could make a decision, however, the footsteps on the solid wood floor grew closer and then stopped a short distance from the bed.

Daisuke was dressed in a pair of black paints and a white shirt with a high collar and a few too many ruffles for his taste. He was tugging absently at the collar, trying to figure out how to unbutton it, and he was carrying a dark red jacket in his arms. He tossed the coat on a nearby chair and was about to set about his task with both hands when his eyes spotted Hikari, sitting up in bed and staring at him.

"Oh, you're awake," he said. "Maybe you can figure out how to undo this without ripping it."

"It's probably not that complicated," she replied immediately, and then took in the sight of him. "What _are_ you wearing?"

He frowned rather intensely. "It's not my idea," he stated bluntly, and crossed the room to the bed to sit beside her. "They gave it to me."

"Stop tugging," she scolded, pulling his hand away from the collar. "Who gave it to you? Where are we?"

"We are in the king's palace in the capital of the north," he answered. "Not long after you fell asleep in the mud, a regiment of the King's Guard came along and was happy enough, after we explained who we were and who you are and what we were doing there, to bring us here."

Having easily undone the button already in the time he had been talking, Hikari paused, hand in midair, and said, "Have you seen the King already?"

"No, not yet," he answered. "I have seen your cousin, and that is all."

"Mei?"

He nodded, feeling the open space at his neck now. "Thank you. That would have taken me forever to try to undo." He turned to face her with a smile, and noted the expression in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I…," she began and then hesitated.

"Didn't look like nothing," he observed. "It looked like something worried you."

"No, no," she answered, shaking her head a few times more than necessary. "I…that is…there was something else I had to tell you before we were…interrupted."

He was quiet, remembering the conversation they'd been having. It seemed like a long time ago now. Hikari watched him, hoping for some sign of what he might be feeling, but saw nothing definitive in his eyes.

"I was…the agreement was…," she began, uncertain of where to begin.

"The agreement was that the king of the north would decide who you marry," he replied, and she briefly saw a flash of emotion, though she couldn't easily identify it. There was displeasure, but why? Was it simply that the thought of injustice angered him, or was there something else?

"Yes," she answered, "Well, not exactly. My uncle must approve the choice. There's nothing, however, that says that I can't make a choice…of my own."

There was a long silence. Hikari could hear her own heart beating in her ears, and it seemed unusually loud, as though it might be drowning out the rest of the world.

Daisuke was looking at her with a waiting expression. When a long time had passed without either of them saying anything, he said, "I suppose you've made a choice then?"

* * *

The lesson I should learn from this is don't procrastinate. In the end, these last 2 chapters have gone exactly as I originally envisioned, I was simply too lazy to write them up.

Two chapters left, I think. I think. No promises.


	28. The King of the North

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Twenty Eight: **The King of the North

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters and money, does not belong to me. Plot, however, does. In short, don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

* * *

No matter how impressive the castle of Yagami might be, Miyako thought, it paled in comparison to the palace of the North. Perhaps she only felt this way because she had become used to the stately grandness in the south, but the throne room in the north was truly astonishing.

The ceiling was at least as tall, if not taller, and the floor polished possibly twice as intensely so that it was nearly possible to see one's reflection. That is, it would have been possible to see one's reflection had the room not been half filled with people. Some of them were servants or clerks, carrying about stacks of paper, food, drink, and a number of other objects, but at least half of the crowd was made up of elegantly dressed men and women.

Each of the men was wearing what appeared to be high fashion in this area – white, high, stiff collared shirts, jackets with ruffled sleeves, boots as shiny as the parts of the floor that could be seen beneath their feet. The women were even more impeccably dressed in gowns of every color imaginable, but the hair was something that had never been seen in Yagami so far as Miyako was aware. Some of them wore bonnets or hats or some other form of head covering, and some of them wore their hair in buns or in braids. A great deal of them, however, had piled their hair on top of their heads like towers. Some of them had piled their hair rather high indeed, so that she wondered if they had difficulty getting through doorways.

The room was very large, so that one end of it was nearly invisible from the other end (especially through the crowd of people). At the complete opposite end of the door was a high-backed, ornate throne, upon which sat a man that Miyako supposed was the King. She could not clearly see him from so far away; only saw that he appeared to be a blur of blue and black.

Ken was standing beside her, and when they entered the room she became first aware of all the sights before her and then aware of his hand gripping her arm rather tightly, as though he was concerned he might lose sight of her in the crowd.

"Wow," she heard Takeru say, a half-whisper in the crowded space but audible nonetheless because of how close he was standing. Miyako turned back toward him, wondering whether it was the room itself or the people that filled it which astonished him.

The servant who had led the group of them to the room appeared to have promptly forgot about them from the moment they entered, for he was now engaging in conversation with another man a short distance from the doorway. No one else in the room seemed to have noticed the entrance of the newcomers, for they were all involved in what appeared to be rather intense conversations.

All was chaos for a few moments. Miyako saw that the man standing near the doorway (the man the servant was talking with) had a rather long beard that was nearly white. He was wearing a dark blue cap on his head, and the rest of his outfit was entirely black. As the servant spoke to him, he nodded, and his pale blue eyes turned toward the newcomers with some amount of interest. She saw that he focused his eyes upon Hikari for a long moment, though Hikari was completely unaware of the attention.

After what seemed like a long time, the old man nodded and turned away from the door. He pushed through the crowd and made his way to the opposite side of the room. A few of the men and women (who were all clustered in small groups, talking) noticed him and stepped aside, but most appeared to be oblivious to his journey. Miyako thought she could see him near the King, but could not be certain, because it was so far away.

Another few moments passed in which nothing seemed to happen, and then suddenly the room grew very quiet. All conversation which was not whispered halted completely, and all the men and women in the room turned to face the King at the front of the room.

"It has been a long day," he said, and his voice was surprisingly clear and audible even at the end of the long room. "It shall be a long year, should I make it that long. I am eager to retire for the day, however, there is one last thing which must occur before we do so."

"A long day?" Miyako mumbled to herself quietly. "It's only a bit past noon."

"Hush," Ken said, and elbowed her softly, a feat which he could manage because he was still holding on to her arm.

There was a loud pounding sound, and then the crowd parted silently. Nearly every head in the room turned toward the back of the room, and nearly every eye focused upon the newcomers.

Silence filled the room, and then Hikari began to walk forward. Miyako felt as though her legs had frozen to the spot, and they would have stayed frozen there if Ken had not pulled on her arm and then led her forward, giving her no opportunity to remain behind.

After what seemed to Miyako to be an eternally long yet short time, the small group reached the other side of the room. The crowd, which had parted to make space, watched the procession silently, and the only sound in the room was of footsteps on the shiny floors.

When the sea of faces finally parted and they had reached the end, Miyako was at last able to see the Northern King clearly. He was an old man, older than she had expected, with hair that had passed gray and was moving on to white. He wore no beard, but did have a rather long mustache, which was the same gray-white shade as the hair atop his head.

The throne was upon a raised platform which enabled him to clearly overlook the crowd beyond. Two steps filled the space between the floor and the top of the dais, and a bit of dark red carpeting covered the space directly in front of the platform. The King's dark eyes seemed pleased and content, though a bit tired. He was dressed not in the stiff, formal clothing of the others in the room, but in a long, dark blue and black robe that reminded Miyako of the clothes she had seen the healers wear.

When she had reached the end of the journey and the edge of the carpeting, Hikari wasted no time with words but immediately sank down to her knees, After a moment, the rest of the visitors followed her.

"May I hereby present, to all those present, the Princess of Yagami, Lady Hikari," said a clear voice, the voice of the old man with the long beard.

A quiet murmur followed these words, a stir of conversation amidst all those gathered. Apparently, Miyako guessed, not everyone had guessed the identity of the guests.

The King of the North allowed the conversation to fade away before he spoke. "I have been looking forward to this for quite sometime," he stated. "Welcome to the North, daughter of my brother."

"Thank you for your hospitality, uncle," Hikari replied in the most serene and grateful sounding of voices. "We are most appreciative of the kindness you have shown."

"You are welcome, of course, to stay as long as you wish here, as are your companions," the King went on. "I'm not mistaken, however, in assuming that you wish to quickly complete first the purpose of your visit?"

A bit of conversation followed these words. Takeru, to Miyako's left, whispered in a not-so-quiet whisper, "What purpose?"

Miyako shrugged, and glanced toward Ken, who was on her right. "I don't know," she answered. Ken returned her blank expression.

Some of the others apparently were clueless as well, for the conversation in the room seemed to take on a questioning tone. Guessing that not everyone understood what was happening, the King waited a few moments for silence to resume.

"As I am sure many of you know, I am not the eldest son of my father," he began. "My brother, who would become King in the South, was four years my senior. He was married to the only princess in Yagami, a marriage which resulted in the beautiful lady we see before us now."

He paused briefly so that everyone could turn their eyes toward Hikari and momentarily appreciate her best qualities.

"An agreement in that contract of marriage requires me, as my brother's closest living blood relative, to approve whosoever is chosen by his daughter for partnership in her own marriage."

He had barely finished speaking these words when renewed conversation broke out amongst those assembled. This time, it was not whispered, hushed questions, but rather loud voices, all jumbled together in a mass of confusion.

"What?" Takeru was saying, not bothering with whispering but speaking in an ordinary voice. "How is that – what sort of a contract is that?"

"Not a very fair one, that's for certain," Miyako replied, and turned once more toward Ken. He, too, was frowning, looking none too pleased with the situation, but he did not return her gaze. Instead, his eyes were focused on Daisuke, who was on his other side.

He hadn't said a word since they'd entered the room. In fact, Miyako recalled, he had seemed lost in thought and unusually quiet since they had first assembled in the hall in preparation for this meeting. Even now, he was staring at his hands, which were clenched into fists near his knees.

"You knew about this?" Takeru questioned, leaning past Miyako and speaking over Ken. "Tell me you're doing something about it!"

"Takeru!" Miyako said, sharply, and raised one arm to stop him before he did something which he might regret, and which might not look acceptable in this place. "Not here. Not now."

"_Are_ you doing something about it?" Ken questioned quietly, for the conversation in the rest of the room was beginning to die down and he did not wish for everyone to hear his words. Daisuke, however, was uncharacteristically quiet. He had not even looked up when Takeru had spoken.

"Before the eligible young men begin to fight," the King said then, "let me first say that my niece is, of course, entitled to her own choice."

A brief, quiet muttering momentarily followed this pronouncement, mostly in a tone of mild disappointment coming from the men. The King seemed to find this rather amusing, and Miyako could hear him chuckling quietly to himself.

"Tell me, Hikari," he went on once he'd regained his composure. "Do you have a choice?"

The room fell completely silent, so that Miyako could very clearly hear Takeru breathing a short distance away. Her own heartbeat sounded rather loud in her ears.

"I…," Hikari began, speaking hesitantly.

"Yes," said a different, previously unheard voice, and every head in the room turned to see the one who had spoken. Daisuke had looked up from the ground at which he had been staring. He was now looking directly toward Hikari, who was looking back at him with wide eyes. The look in his own eyes was of confident determination.

Conversation once more took over the room, some approving, some disappointed (those coming mostly from the single men in the room who had been hoping for a chance to marry a princess). The group of visitors, however, was completely oblivious to this commotion. Takeru, Miyako, and Ken, were all staring, wide eyed, toward Daisuke, and then toward Hikari, and then back toward Daisuke. The two of them were staring at each other.

"Is this so?" the King questioned, and at his words the room fell quiet once more. He was looking toward Hikari with a rather amused smile upon his face, both eyebrows raised. It seemed to Miyako as though he was finding the whole thing very entertaining.

Hikari tore her eyes away and back toward the King. She nodded once, and then found her voice. "Yes," she said then.

* * *

Hawkmon had chosen to remain behind, far more interested in napping than in any other activity for the moment. The other digimon had immediately agreed with this decision, and all of them had fallen to sleep almost immediately.

The visitors had been given a cluster of connected rooms, joined together in the center by a rather spacious parlor. Several couches were grouped in the middle of the room, and it was upon these overstuffed cushions that the digimon had mostly scattered themselves. Shijo as well had stayed behind, and he was taking the opportunity to relax. Though it had not been his original intention, he, too, had fallen asleep in a comfortable armchair.

"…lucky!" Takeru was saying in a rather loud voice as the door opened, abruptly startling those napping into wakefulness. "What if he was not inclined to be so kind? What if he decided to arbitrarily force you into marriage with someone you've never met?"

"Someone old and smelly, for example," Miyako put in, frowning. She sat down on a cushion beside her partner, who was looking at her with some confusion.

"Well, it didn't happen that way," Hikari replied, and sat down in the nearest armchair to the door. She sighed, partly from relief and partly from a bit of exhaustion. "Thank heavens."

"What didn't happen?" Hawkmon questioned, curiosity having overwhelmed him by this point.

"Hikari didn't get married off to an ancient madman," Daisuke explained with an oddly cheerful grin.

"Maybe not ancient," Miyako conceded dryly, "but perhaps still mad." It was a sign of his good humor that Daisuke did not respond to this statement with anything more than a grin.

Tailmon had been sleeping on the back of a sofa, and at these words she opened one eye and twitched her ear absently. Then she sat up and stretched, yawning wide. "I take it everything went according to plan?"

"I hope you and V-mon get along well, that's all I have to say," Takeru said, sinking into another seat on the sofa. He was still seething about the injustice of the contract. V-mon, who had been lying on the arm of the same sofa, turned his head towards Tailmon and then shrugged absently.

"Plan?" Miyako echoed. "You _planned_ this?"

"Not very well, I'm afraid," Hikari replied with another sigh. "It would have gone over better if I was a bit more bold, and if the journey had not been _twice_ interrupted."

A moment of silence passed as all considered that which had happened, along the journey, and the fate that Xiao had met.

"I believe," Ken said, glancing with a rather meaningful stare toward Miyako, "that I'm ready for something to eat."

She stood up almost immediately. "Yes," she replied. "I am starved. What do you suppose they're serving?"

"I am hungry enough," he replied, "that I don't really care what it is."

"Wait," Shijo said, getting to his feet. "I'll come with you."

"Better hurry," Ken said, "or there won't be anything left when we're through."

"Are you coming, Takeru?" Miyako questioned pointedly, but, apparently not disposed to take hints, he shook his head.

"In a bit," he said, waving a hand of dismissal.

The mention of food seemed to rouse the digimon from their naps, and so, within moments, the room was almost completely emptied.

Daisuke, who had not yet taken a seat, took the space that Miyako had vacated. Takeru became suddenly aware that both he and Hikari were looking at him.

"I'm not going to tell you you're wrong," he said then, feeling as though something needed to be said. "If anything, I think I would like to have a chat with your grandmother and figure out what on earth prompted such a strange contract."

"Wouldn't we all," Hikari replied in agreement. "I'm sorry. I probably should have mentioned something about this to someone before leaving home. Maybe then, you might have thought I was less stupid."

"I didn't think you were stupid," Takeru replied immediately, and then hesitated. "I thought you were being irrational and…."

"Stupid," she finished with a shrug. "It's all right. I was being kind of stupid, not telling anyone. I got a letter a few months ago saying that my uncle has been old and sick and so he might not have much time left. They wanted me to come north right away."

"All the same, it doesn't seem fair…," he said. "To make you choose something…someone…when you're not ready."

"No," she answered, "it isn't. Ordinarily, I might have refused to go. There wasn't a time limit put on the contract. I could have waited until I was ninety if need be. But…I didn't want to refuse the wish of a dying man. My father's brother."

"To be honest," Takeru said, quietly, after a moment of thought, "I am surprised you have any sense of loyalty to your father anymore."

There was a long silence. Hikari studied the floor beneath her with some interest. "My father…," she said finally, "was not who any of us think he was. I don't know who he was, but…there were parts of his memory that I will choose to honor."

"Regardless of all that," she went on, "the contract is still valid."

Takeru considered this for a moment. "Well," he said then, getting to his feet, "we can be glad, as I said, that things turned out the way they did. I think I'm going to see about that food now."

"Yes," Hikari said when the door had closed, "we can be glad of that."

* * *

The music was already playing cheerfully when Miyako entered the humongous ballroom. No one had yet begun to dance, but everyone who had gathered in the space looked cheerful and happy to be there. Streamers were spread over the ceiling, creating a colorful canopy of celebration.

"It's too bad Mimi isn't here," Miyako said with a sigh. "There's nothing she likes more than a party."

"Except perhaps for planning one," Ken added, and she had to agree with this statement.

"It seems," she went on, "as though it's been way too long since I've been to a party. Not since Sora's wedding, I think."

"I would guess they will have another, perhaps more extravagant one once the baby's born," he pointed out, and this thought cheered her quite a bit. "Or perhaps sooner, even…."

"Maybe," she agreed, and stepped away from the doorway to let Takeru enter behind her.

"There are certainly a lot of people here," Takeru noted, appraising the crowd, which was full of men and women in more outrageously formal dress than they had been in the throne room. "I suppose they're all eager to see us?"

"Maybe so," Ken replied, "or, more specifically…."

"To see Hikari," Miyako finished, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I wouldn't be surprised if crowds lined the streets as we left."

For some reason, Takeru thought this a bit funny, and quietly stifled an undignified laugh. "Pure curiosity?" he wondered, "or a genuine admiration?"

"Maybe a bit of both," she suggested. "Curiosity, certainly, but there's nothing she's done to make the people in the North dislike her, is there? She's descended from them."

"She hasn't done much to make them like her, either," Ken pointed out.

"Well, perhaps she's simply naturally likeable!" Miyako returned rather defensively, which ended the debate for the moment.

The music which had been playing ceased and a new, livelier tune began. A few people wandered away from the edges toward the center of the room and began to dance. One woman with her hair piled high upon her head, and a few feathers within, danced with a man who was quite a bit shorter than her. She held one hand up to her head, as though to prevent her hair from toppling over and causing great injury to her partner. Miyako now silently giggled to herself, and then stopped abruptly when she felt a hand on her arm.

"We cannot attend a party and not dance," Ken said with a sly smile, and she laughed outright at this.

"We could," she disagreed, "but I think we would embarrass the whole of Yagami by not doing so. Or at least one Mimi."

"Heaven forbid," he replied wryly, half rolling his eyes as he did so.

They were gone a moment later, lost in a flurry of skirts and spinning that now covered the dance floor, leaving Takeru to stand at the sidelines and marvel at it all. Bemused by the entire thing, yet feeling quite content to be the observer, he wandered along the edge of the room, watching the faces of the dancers and maneuvering between other partygoers.

A bowl of punch was set up at the opposite end of the room, and, as he had no one to talk to or dance with, Takeru decided to make his way in that direction. He had finished ladling himself a drink when a vaguely familiar voice caught his ear.

"I believe I have seen you, though not yet talked with you," said a woman's voice. "You come from the south with my cousin, do you not?"

She was a thin, dark haired beauty of a woman, dressed in a dark red gown and with quite a few silver and red beads and jewels around her neck. Her lips, the same dark red as her gown, curved into a pleasant smile.

"I do," he answered. "I am not sure, but I would guess you are Princess Mei?"

"You would guess correctly," she replied pleasantly, and inclined her head briefly. "Tell me, is your intuition always so accurate?"

"My intuition?" he echoed. "I would hardly call it intuition. I would say I used something more like logic in guessing your identity."

"Logic, you say? That is interesting. I am not often around people who choose to use logic."

He raised one eyebrow curiously and took a sip of the punch. "I gather you don't spend your time around doctors and mathematicians?"

"No," she answered, shaking her head. "More likely around healers. I am studying, you see, to be the world's most accomplished healer."

"An admirable pursuit," Takeru conceded, raising his glass in salute. "Have you come far in your studies?"

"Far enough for some," Mei replied, "yet not far enough that I am satisfied. I have heard that there aren't any healers in the south."

He nodded. "You heard correctly. I never met one until I crossed the border. Apparently it is a form of magical study that has died out in my homeland."

"I wonder if it would be a desirable and favorable idea to return the art to Yagami," she mused. "I wonder if your doctors would be opposed to the idea of magic taking over their profession. Are they as inclined toward logic and away from magic as you are?"

"Some are so inclined," he admitted, "but I am not inclined away from magic. I simply have a hard time understanding it."

She was quiet a long moment. "I see," she said, nodding. Something on the other side of the room caught her attention at that moment, and she then turned her head to see what it was. "If you should wish further instruction in the art of magic, I would be glad to try to explain things to you. For the time being, however, I see I am being summoned. Find me later if you wish."

And with that, she was gone, leaving Takeru to feel quite a bit confused about the conversation he had taken part in. He drank the remainder of his drink and set the empty glass down on the table.

The music had ended, and Miyako, full of energy, was almost skipping across the room. "Takeru!" she said then, catching his ear, and grabbed hold of his hand. "You have to dance, too. Come on."

"I have to?" he echoed. "Is that a rule?"

"It's Mimi's rule. There's no point attending a party if you won't dance, and, as you seem more interested in talking to pretty ladies than asking them to dance, you will have to settle for me."

By this point, they were in the middle of the dance floor and the music was beginning. "I wasn't…I didn't…," he began. "The party has only started. I have plenty of time to ask someone to dance!"

"So you do!" she replied cheerfully, and set his arm upon her shoulder where it belonged. "On the off chance, however, that you don't get around to it, or that all of them turn you down, I am here to save you."

"Save me?" he repeated, amused. "I wasn't aware I was even in danger."

"All the more reason you ought to be saved," Miyako replied decisively. After a moment had passed, she said, a bit more solemnly, "Who was she?"

"Who?" he asked, having completely drifted into his own world once more.

"The girl…the lady you were talking to," she said. "She looked very pretty."

* * *

any and all complaints can be left in the review section or (if they're too evil to be read by others) e-mailed. Thanks for reading.

I might have counted incorrectly. Might be 2 chapters after this one. I shall see how that goes upon writing it.


	29. Carrying Traditions

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Twenty Nine: **Carrying Traditions

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:** _Digimon_, all related characters, etc, is not mine. Plot is. Don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

* * *

The moon was high in the clear sky, and shining brightly through the windows, so bright that candles were hardly needed. The quiet, empty parlor suddenly became filled with the sounds of voices and footsteps as a crowd spilled into it from the hallway.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Hikari was saying in a rather concerned tone.

"I'm fine," Daisuke answered. "I'm only half dead on my feet with exhaustion, that's all." He interrupted himself with a huge yawn. "I'll be fine after a little nap."

"There was nothing at all to suggest that!" Miyako said. "Nothing!"

"Seemed like a big suggestion to me," Ken replied, "the way he kept going on about the sword and how nice it looked. Nothing about how well it works, only about how nice it looks."

"A little nap?" Hikari echoed. "I think a nice long nap is what you mean." She sat down on the couch beside him. "You should get up and go on in to bed."

Daisuke had no response to this because he was in the middle of another yawn.

"You're only jealous because there was a crowd of people listening to him talk," Miyako retorted.

"I'm quite content to have only one person listen when I talk," Ken replied, "which is why I don't talk about things that I don't know about."

"I still say you're jealous," she went on. "He seemed a very nice man; who cares if he didn't slay seventy Ogremon at the battle of wherever he was."

"If he was even there," he mumbled under his breath.

"The battle of the North-west Mountains," Daisuke mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "Seventeen years ago, when the Ogremon tribe of…," he paused to yawn once again, "the westernmost point decided to rebel against the Northern King and claim further territory for themselves."

"Yeah, that one," Miyako said, nodding. "I didn't even know you were paying attention."

"I wasn't," he answered. "I don't think that Colonel…."

"Pang Xiu," Ken filled in with a bit of disgust clearly audible in his voice.

"Right," Daisuke agreed, and yawned briefly once again. "I don't think that Colonel Pang Xiu mentioned the part about the reason he was supposed to be slaying however many Ogremon it was. I learned that from…."

"Li Jiang," Hikari filled in.

"No, no, he was the one with the beard, wasn't he? I'm talking about the one with the purple hat."

"Oh," she said, nodding. "That was…Ming Chen?"

He shrugged. "Sounds right. Anyway, he was going on about military history because it seems that he was the military advisor to the King at the time that the Ogremon rebellion was going on."

"Either way," Ken said, "I don't see how he could possibly have killed seventy Ogremon by himself."

"Well, he might have been exaggerating a little bit," Miyako admitted, shrugging.

"A little?" Ken echoed. "He probably made up the whole story."

She shrugged again. "What's it matter? We're leaving in a few days and you'll never have to see him again."

"We can only hope," he muttered darkly.

Hikari said, then, into the silence. "Where's Takeru?"

"I thought," Miyako said, looking around as though expecting to see him standing a short distance away, "that he followed us here."

"He did, but then he was talking to that woman again," Ken said.

"What woman?" Hikari questioned, and Daisuke opened one sleepy eye out of curiosity.

"He was talking to a woman at the party," Miyako recalled. "Very pretty lady, with dark hair and a red dress. I don't know who she was, he never did say."

"Dark hair and a red dress?" Hikari questioned, and glanced toward Daisuke, who shrugged. "The only woman I remember seeing wearing a red dress was Mei."

"Mei?" Miyako echoed.

"Yeah, she was wearing red," Daisuke recalled. "I wonder what she was talking to Takeru about."

"Wait," Miyako interrupted before they could begin to speculate on the subject of the conversation. "Who is Mei? Why don't I know her?"

"She's my cousin," Hikari explained. "I only saw her for a little while tonight, and I didn't get a chance to talk to her very much. Actually, come to think of it, I didn't see her very much at all since we've been here."

"I did, but only briefly when we first came here," Daisuke said. "You were asleep, if I remember right, which would explain why you didn't know who she was."

* * *

"There's a wizard at the palace in Yagami named Koushiro," Takeru said. "He does most of his work in a basement laboratory, into which only a few dare to tread. Somehow, I had expected something a bit more glamorous here."

"I think I might surprise you, sir, in that I am far less glamorous than people believe me to be," Mei replied. "This, however, is not my workspace, but only my library."

They were in a large but cramped room in the lower levels of the castle. It was a very unglamorous room, with only the bricks of the foundation for walls. Hastily built bookcases lined the walls and formed rows between them, each one filled near to bursting with books and manuscripts. Amidst one of them, a Terriermon lay half-asleep, one eye open as it surveyed those who had interrupted its nap.

"I can't see how anyone would get any work done here," Takeru admitted. "I am surprised to find you read here."

She shook her head. "I don't," she replied. "I only store the books here. I most often read upstairs, where there is a bit more…glamour."

"I see," he replied. "All these books are about healing?"

She nodded. "They are indeed. I would very much like to entrust a few of them to you, and to Yagami, in the hopes that a few of your wizards might consent to be healers."

"We have a lot of wizards at the palace," Takeru admitted, "I am sure that of all of them, a few would not mind learning healing magic. Thank you for the gift, princess."

"You are most welcome, sir. And as for you, will you study healing magic?"

"I am not yet completely certain that I am capable of any magic at all," he admitted. "So far I haven't had much luck trying it."

"Is that so?" she questioned, some surprise in her voice. "I sensed from the moment I first saw you that there was great magical potential. I wonder if your penchant for logic over intuition has hampered your abilities."

He sighed. "So it would seem. I have unfortunately much difficulty trying to trust my intuition."

"Perhaps," she replied. "Or perhaps you simply need a better teacher. Give me your hand."

He did so immediately, holding out his right hand, and she took it in her own. For a long moment, Mei stood silent, and then she shut her eyes in thought. "Ah, yes, I see I was right," she said then. "There is much potential in you, but it is untamed and unfocused."

She paused a moment before adding, "I could teach you, if you wish."

"Teach me?" Takeru echoed. "Teach me…healing magic?"

"There wouldn't be time before you leave, to teach you very much," she answered. "I could manage the basics, and then, if you wished…."

* * *

The night was quiet, and surprisingly warm considering that it was now mid-winter in one of the coldest places on the continent. Daisuke, buried under two or three blankets, was quite asleep when, an hour before dawn, an official sounding knock pounded upon his door, jolting him awake. He sat straight up in bed, covers falling away from his shoulders, and blinked, wondering why he was awake.

Again, the pounding broke the silence, and he stared through the darkness for another long moment at the door, wondering why it was anyone felt the need to wake him up this early. Reluctantly, he pushed aside the blankets and walked barefoot across the soft carpeting. The knocking had begun again when he pulled it open to find a short old man with a long white beard standing at the door, holding a flickering candle.

As the old man was not dressed in nightclothes, it was safe to assume that there was no emergency. Daisuke yawned wide (he had not yet had anywhere near enough sleep) and blinked at the man. "Yes?" he said when he had regained the ability to speak.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir," the old man replied, "but his majesty insisted upon seeing you at once."

Daisuke blinked a few more times, wondering if he was, in fact, awake. "His majesty…the King?" he questioned, and the old man nodded. "At once?"

"It seems so, yes," the man answered. "If you don't mind."

Still not completely convinced that he was not dreaming some odd dream, Daisuke nodded at the man and gestured vaguely toward the room behind him. "Should I get dressed?"

"I don't believe it's necessary, sir," the old man replied, shaking his head. "I would advise that you wear some slippers, however. The floor is rather cold this early."

"Slippers, right," Daisuke said, and turned away from the doorway. A pair of slippers was waiting at the edge of the bed, and he stepped into these, and threw a robe over his shoulders, as the air was as cold as the floor. Shutting the door behind him, he said, "I don't suppose you have any idea what he might want me for at this time of the night?"

"Technically, it's morning, sir," the old man replied as Daisuke followed him down the hallway, "but no, I was not given any hint as to the purpose of your visit."

"I see."

The walk was not a long one, but it went along rather slowly, as the old man did not walk very quickly and Daisuke was in no hurry to speed him along. Had he been more awake, his mind would likely have been rushing through a number of likely and unlikely scenarios, frantically trying to figure out why it was the King of the North would wish to see him in the pre-dawn hours. As he was still half-asleep, however, he was far too tired to let his imagination run wild.

Eventually, the old man stopped walking, halting beside a door which he then opened up and gestured for Daisuke to enter. After another long and rather powerful yawn, Daisuke blinked his eyes, hoping that this would help him to wake up, and shuffled through the doorway.

The room beyond was a sitting room that was rather plainly furnished in comparison to the elegant rooms that filled the rest of the palace. A few comfortable couches and armchairs were scattered about the room, clustering near a fireplace at one end, which was burning brightly. The windows were adorned with serviceable but far from ostentatious drapes, the rug was fluffy but definitely well-worn, and the small tables scattered about were similarly often used pieces.

The King himself was seated in a rather comfortable armchair very close to the fire, dressed as Daisuke was in slippers and a robe. A mug of some steaming hot beverage was on the stand beside his chair, already half-drunk. He turned toward the door at the sound of its opening, and nodded encouragingly toward Daisuke as he hesitated in the doorway.

"I'm sorry to wake you up this early," he said before Daisuke could speak, waving his hand, gesturing him to come closer. "I do my best thinking in the early morning, before everything else has cluttered my head."

Daisuke wasn't quite certain how to answer this, and so made his way slowly across the room, which, although plain in furnishings, was large in size. He was still trying to make his half-awake brain come up with something clever and flattering to say when the King spoke again.

"I've been drinking some of the most delicious tea," he said, lifting the mug from the table beside his chair. "Sit, sit. Would you like some of this?"

Wondering if it would be considered rude to refuse such a thing, Daisuke sat down on the indicated sofa and nodded. "Sure," he said, though he was not really much in want of tea. "Sounds great."

Another door a short distance away opened at that moment and a young woman entered, carrying a pot of tea, apparently in expectation that the King would want a refill at this time. Seeing her, he raised his mug so she might refill it. "You have excellent timing, madam," he said. "Do bring another mug for our visitor."

She nodded, bowing slightly, and crossed the room to a small cabinet wherein the mugs must be kept. A short while later, Daisuke found himself holding a cup of the steaming hot beverage, which did smell good. Immediately he took a sip of it, wondering if it might taste as good as it smelled, and found that it did. "That's quite good," he said, glad of something to say, finally. "Thank you."

"I thought you might like it," the King said, nodding happily. "I thought that someone like you might appreciate good quality tea. I have heard, you see, that your family raises tea leaves, and so I thought that perhaps you might be someone who knows something about tea."

"I…know when to plant it and when to harvest it," Daisuke replied. "That, I'm afraid, is the extent of my knowledge of tea."

"That is a greater knowledge than I have," the King replied, apparently finding the conversation rather amusing. "You know how to drink it, too, I see."

"That's the easiest part of it, sir," he answered, taking another sip of the steaming hot beverage.

"So it is, so it is," said the King, and sighed contentedly into his mug. "I suppose you're thinking that I'm quite mad, aren't you, having brought you here so early to drink tea? Well, I confess, that was not my entire motivation. The truth of it is that I wish to ask you a few things."

Daisuke had been thinking something along those lines exactly, but had been wisely pushing the whole matter out of his head and had, of course, not said so. "Not about tea, I hope," he said instead.

"No, no," he replied, and sighed. "Ah, if I were younger, I would. There is precious little space in my head for new and frivolous information these days, however, and, interesting though it may be, I'm afraid tea harvesting schedules are not something of importance." He laughed silently, shaking his head. "No, I'm afraid I called you here for something altogether more practical."

Swallowing his latest sip of tea, Daisuke nodded. "You want to ask me about me?"

"Something along those lines. It's probably something I should have asked you before, that is, when you first arrived. It completely slipped my mind, however, and didn't return to my head until this morning." He sighed once more. "It's probably really _not_ very practical when you think of it. I've already given my approval, and I don't believe I intend to take it back, unless you reveal something terribly dreadful about yourself. Is there something terribly dreadful I ought to know about?"

"Not that I can think of," Daisuke replied immediately.

"No, no, of course not," the King agreed, waving aside both the answer and the question with his free hand. "If there was something terrible and dreadful, then I believe that my niece would know about it, and then she would not have chosen you, would she? You have known her a long time, haven't you?"

"Very near to my entire life," he answered.

The King nodded, as though pleased with this answer. "There isn't much that you could have managed to do that she would not know about and thus have taken into consideration. I confess I don't know her very well, but she's intelligent, I'm sure."

"The truth is," he went on, "I had a few people find out some information about you so that I wouldn't have to go through the trouble of asking a bunch of tedious questions. That is, of course, how I know that your family grows tea leaves."

Daisuke nodded into his mug. "Did you find out anything terrible and dreadful about me?" he questioned.

"A few things," the King replied. "All of which, I would guess, Hikari knows about, and all of which, I am sure, were taken into consideration. None of which," he added, "are so terrible and dreadful that it would have affected my decision had I thought about it in the right time and place."

"Well," Daisuke said after a moment of considering. "That's good."

"Indeed it is," he answered, and set down his mug. "I am quite relieved," he went on as he maneuvered himself in the chair so that he might get to his feet, "because how would I have felt, or looked, taking back approval that I had hastily given? No, no, don't get up," he said, for Daisuke had also begun to rise. "It would have been rather traumatizing for Hikari and, I'm sure, for you, wouldn't it?" He laughed quietly to himself.

"Yes, sir, a bit," Daisuke admitted.

"A bit," the King repeated, and laughed again, a bit louder this time. Having gotten to his feet, he now made his way across the room to the same cabinet from which the woman had before retrieved the mug for tea. "I should say a bit more than a bit!"

"Humiliating more than traumatizing," Daisuke replied honestly.

The King paused in his steps and nodded, raising one finger in agreement. "That is precisely it!" he agreed. "Precisely the word that would fit." He laughed again. "I heard," he went on, "that you did not much get along with my brother. I can see why."

Reaching the cabinet in question, he opened the door and began to rummage through one of the shelves.

"Why is that, sir?" Daisuke questioned, a bit louder than before so that he might be heard through the wood of the cabinet door.

"You are a bit too honest for your own good," replied the King, also speaking a bit louder through the door. "My brother was also never appreciative of a sense of humor; he was far too serious for his own good. I can see that you would have clashed."

"I suppose that's one way of looking at it."

"One way of many, I'm sure. Ah! Here it is." Having retrieved whatever it was he had been looking for, the King turned away from the cabinet again and made his way back to the armchair he had left. "Now, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to stand up."

"This," he continued, "has been in my family for generations. Farther back than anyone can count, and, believe me, my family can count very far back. I had an uncle who had memorized the family tree back to the founding of the Kingdom…ah, but I digress. How quickly I get off subject these days."

"At any rate, I want my niece to have this. Not, as you might suspect, because I favor her over my own daughter, no, that is not the case! The truth is that Mei doesn't want it. She thinks it's a hideous piece of old rubbish, and we've argued over it plenty, believe me. I suppose maybe she's correct, I don't know much about jewelry." He held out a hand in which a small wooden box rested. "Take it."

"You want me to give this to Hikari?" Daisuke questioned. In all the reminiscing and such he had completely lost the point of the King's speech. "Why don't you give it to her yourself?"

"Open it, open it!" the King said, waving one hand toward him, and then he sat down again in the armchair he had vacated. He was silent for a long moment as Daisuke opened the small box and peered at the object inside.

It was a ring, a small silver ring with dark red gemstones glittering. It was not, so far as Daisuke could determine, a hideous piece of old rubbish, but a beautiful piece of jewelry. He wondered if Mei was perhaps more insane than her father.

"I see by the look in your eyes that you are in agreement with me and not my daughter," the King said, a rather pleased sort of smirk on his face now.

"It's beautiful," he replied immediately. "I don't understand. Why…?"

"There is a tradition in this Kingdom which I do not believe you have in the south," the King explained, "that upon agreeing to marriage, the couple exchanges rings as a symbol of their union."

"No, I don't think we have that tradition," Daisuke agreed, shaking his head. "You want me to give this to Hikari for that reason?"

"Originally, or so the legend goes, that ring was made by a brilliant jeweler for the woman who would become the wife of one of our first Kings. When her daughter was married, the ring was passed on to her, and then to her daughter, and so on down the line. My daughter has declared that she doesn't want it, and I have no desire to be buried with it, and so I am passing it on."

Daisuke was silent for a long moment, peering at the ring. The red gems glittered dazzlingly in the firelight and the silver band shone brightly.

* * *

Originally, I wanted Mei to have a much bigger part in this, but things didn't exactly work out in that way. Originally she was going to be a very interesting character and a bunch of stuff was going to happen with her, but, mostly in the interest of time, I got rid of all that. I still felt like I wanted to include her at some point, though, so I gave poor Takeru something to do. I like Takeru, I really do, but I'm never sure what to do with him. Sigh.

As always, my mind is thinking ahead, and I'm debating with myself whether or not to write some more when this story is over. If I don't write it, it'll stay in my head and drive me insane, but if I do write it, it will take up a lot of my time and I'll probably take forever to write it (as I did with this one). So I'm still thinking about that.

**ONE** more chapter remaining in this, so it's nearly done. Thanks for reading.


	30. Journey

**The Northern Kingdom**

**Part Thirty**: Journey

* * *

**Standard Disclaimer Thingie:**_ Digimon_, all related characters and money and such, does not belong to me. Plot, however does. Don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

* * *

"It's not going to fit," V-mon stated in a rather smug and mocking sort of manner. 

Daisuke chose to ignore his partner's comments. He was shoving and pushing at a pile of clothing and other miscellaneous objects, attempting to get everything into a single wooden trunk. So far, he wasn't having much luck.

"The stupid thing," he mumbled, shoving now with his right elbow, "is that after I get back home I'll probably never wear any of these clothes again. Why…won't…it…fit?"

He was halfway to screaming in frustration. The clothing he was shoving into the trunk had all been donated by the King of the North, for almost every object that had traveled with them from Yagami had been either destroyed, lost, or covered with mud. At first, this would seemingly make the task of packing much easier, but somehow it had become very difficult, because there was a lot of clothing.

There was a quiet thud on the floor, as a small wooden box fell from the trunk and rolled under the bed. Daisuke knelt down to pick it up once more, digging beneath the overhanging sheets, when Hikari's voice interrupted the silence from the next room.

"Not coming?"

So loud and sudden was this exclamation that Daisuke nearly banged his head upon the bottom of the bed in surprise. Quickly, he extracted himself, stuffed the box into the bottom of his already overstuffed trunk, and went to see what the commotion was about.

Miyako had apparently found something funny in the last few minutes, for when Daisuke entered the spacious parlor he saw that she was smirking, and Takeru was very close to glaring at her.

"That is not true," he stated in a stern voice.

"What's not true?" V-mon questioned, having followed his partner.

"Takeru is not in love," Patamon replied cheerfully from atop his partner's head, where he was perched.

"Not in love with who?" Daisuke asked, feeling as though he had missed an important part of the conversation.

"Anyone," Takeru replied in an exasperated voice. He was now very definitely glaring at Miyako, and would likely have been glaring at his partner as well if Patamon had been unfortunate enough to be within view.

"Well then," Hikari said, choosing to ignore all the death glares being tossed about, "why aren't you coming?"

"Coming where?" Daisuke interrupted before Takeru could reply.

"Home," Takeru answered, glancing toward Daisuke with a threatening expression that dared him to say anything about love. "I'm not coming because I've decided that I'd like to stay for a while. It'll only be for a few weeks," he added.

"Have you made that much progress?" Tailmon questioned, surprising them all. She had been napping on the back of one of the couches, and everyone had assumed, naturally, that she had not been listening to the conversation at all.

"Some," Takeru replied. "Not as much as I'd like." Noting the confusion of nearly everyone else in present, he said, "Mei has been teaching me some healing magic. We've both decided we want to bring it back to Yagami, and I'd be better off explaining it to them instead of only bringing them some books."

"So you do plan to come home eventually, then?" Miyako questioned, once more with the same knowing smirk.

"It'll only be for a few weeks," Takeru repeated, once more shooting a glare toward Miyako. "I've made progress, but not much, and we both think that if I only had a few more weeks, I could learn a lot more."

A silence fell over the room, and all eyes turned to Hikari, who was considering everything with great seriousness. "I'd really rather you didn't," she said finally, "but if you feel it's best, then stay. It can't be a bad idea to bring healing magic home."

* * *

The journey from the capital of the North to the capital of Yagami was commonly projected to take approximately two weeks when traveling by either foot or Monochromon-pulled wagon. At certain times of the year, this could easily be added to by days or even weeks considering the weather conditions and depending upon which route one chose to take. Traveling through the mountains in the winter, for example, one might be delayed by snowstorms. Traveling through the fields in early spring, one might be bogged down my the mud. In mid-summer, vicious thunderstorms traveled across the plains. It was rarely a quick and easy journey. 

The King of the North had continued his generosity by donating not only a rather large and comfortable carriage (being that the one they had traveled north in had been nearly destroyed by Ogremon) but also a pair of hearty Monochromon. He had also offered the assistance of several tradesmen who were quite accustomed to travel and could recommend for them the best routes to take. He would have also given a dozen servants and a driver, but Hikari had refused those on the grounds that she didn't wish to put them in danger. There was no telling whether or not the journey south would be more peaceful than the journey north.

Miraculously enough, however, they reached the border within the projected time, and without any interruptions or disturbances. Within sight of Yagami, however, the ground turned to mush, and the wheels became bogged down in the mud. Despite the groans and efforts of the Monochromon, the carriage refused to move.

Thinking that it might make things a bit easier if there was less weight for them to pull, everyone within the carriage immediately disembarked, and then Shijo once more coaxed the Monochromon to move. It didn't help any.

"Maybe," Daisuke suggested, "if we give it a push." He walked around to the back of the carriage and leaned up against it. "All right, now!" he called.

Shijo urged the digimon to move, and they tried once more, still to no avail. "We're still not moving!" he shouted back.

"Go back there and help push," Miyako told the boy, and walked around to the front of the Monochromon. She grabbed hold of the harness of the lead digimon and pulled, urging them forward.

This time, Daisuke, Shijo, and Ken all shoved, hard, against the carriage, and this time, amazingly enough, the vehicle lurched forward, escaping from the rather deep mud puddle. Though Ken and Shijo were quick enough to back away before the carriage moved away, Daisuke was not so lucky, and so landed face down in the mud, much to the amusement of the others.

He sat up, wiping the mud from his eyes, aware of laughter coming the loudest from V-mon, who had nearly fallen over from giggling so hard.

Hikari only sighed, smiling slightly despite her efforts not to. "Well," she said, "I suppose this means we camp here for the night."

* * *

The night was a bit warmer than what they had been used to recently. Though it was still winter by anyone's standards, the further south they traveled, the higher the temperature rose. 

Two small tents were set up on either side of a small fire, the travelers divided between the two of them. All ten of them had fallen almost immediately to sleep. Miyako had at some point in the recent past discovered the use of protection spell wards, which would alert them all should any unfriendly intruders pass by them, and so it was not necessary for anyone to stay awake.

The night was quiet and mild, the sky clear of all but the wispiest clouds and the moon, nearly full, shining brightly. Hikari awoke for no particular reason in the midst of this serene silence, sitting straight up.

She had not been dreaming – there was no fear coursing through her veins. There had been no sound to awaken her. Even as she listened to the night, she could hear only the soft chirping of insects, the running of water in a nearby stream (that Daisuke had used to clean the mud off himself) and the rustling of trees in the wind. Glancing over, she saw that Miyako, Hawkmon, and Tailmon were all peacefully sleeping.

Feeling restless, Hikari pushed aside the blankets upon her and rose from the ground. She walked to the tent's entrance and pushed aside the flaps, poking her face through the space, she looked out at the world.

The campsite was surprisingly visible, thanks to the large, bright moon and clear sky overhead. The fire had been extinguished. The other tent, a short distance away, was still and silent, save for a few snores coming from within. No one else was awake.

For some reason, she knew not what, Hikari pushed aside the flaps of the tent the rest of the way and stepped out onto the soft grass. It was cold but not unpleasantly so, and her bare feet made no noise as she walked across.

She could sense, faintly, one of the spell wards that Miyako had cast a short distance away. It was a bit of concentrated magic, absorbed into the ground, activated by the presence of an intruder. The effect of it extended outward for some distance, until it met the magic of another conveniently placed protection spell. The result was more effective than using a shield (which would drain the caster and could not be maintained during sleep) and more comfortable for all of them than requiring someone to stay awake for part of the night.

Miyako had apparently become aware of their existence some time ago, but, with assistance from a few mages in the North, had recently begun to employ them. During the journey home, she had cast them each night, and they had not been disturbed in the slightest. Though, admittedly, they had not yet faced a true test, the travelers were sufficiently comforted by their presence to trust in them completely.

A breeze danced across the plains, causing the grass to dance in waves. Seeing it from some distance away, Hikari prepared herself for the assault from a cold wind. When it blew at a great velocity past her, it caused her hair to dance and momentarily obscure her vision. Her nightgown whipped about violently, and the tent flaps that had fallen closed behind her shook loudly. The temperature, however, was rather warm.

Hikari pushed the hair from her eyes and looked in the direction that the wind had come from. Some portion of her sensed an oddness in the breeze that she could not completely explain. Seeing nothing but the darkness of night on the plains, she turned to see the direction the wind was headed, and saw the trees waving in its wake, trunks bowing and needles rustling.

Beneath the nearest tree, an ancient, thick-trunk variety which lost its leaves in the winter and had not yet regained them, stood a single figure that appeared to be part of the shadows. He was not a shadow, however, for the moon very clearly illuminated the outline of his long, dark cloak.

A heartbeat's time passed, in which Hikari stared, wondering if she ought to be afraid, if she ought to wake the others, if she ought to make some noise, and yet feeling as though none of those things were correct. The shadow moved forward, his dark cloak making him seem as though he was floating above the blades of grass. He stopped at the edge of the boundary created by the protection spells, and said nothing.

A gentle, ordinary breeze danced across the plains.

"Father?" Hikari questioned, her voice barely a whisper.

If that was who he was, she did not know, for he made no response to this question that she could determine. Instead, he raised on arm. At the end of the long, black sleeve she could see no hand nor fingers, but a scroll of ancient parchment, rolled tightly and tied with a single red ribbon.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice a little steadier, a little louder now, but no answer came. Instead, another gentle breeze skipped across the plains. The scroll broke free of the one that grasped it, and it rose into the air and then, by some unknown magic, floated past the boundary without incident.

Instinctively, Hikari reached for it and it fell easily into her hands. She looked at it for a moment, and then gently tugged at the thin ribbon. It unfolded, and she saw that it was covered with writing. Again, she looked up, to ask another question, but the one who had delivered it was gone.

It was too dark to read the writing, even with the light of the bright, big moon. For a moment, Hikari wondered if she ought to put the scroll away and wait until morning, but her curiosity was too strong to seriously consider such a notion. She walked back to where the campfire had been, looking over her shoulder every few minutes in case the shadow returned, and sat down on the same low, flat rock she had been using as a seat a few hours before.

Raising her right hand, Hikari focused, directed all of her energy into the space above her palm, and was rewarded after a few moments when a glowing ball of light appeared, bright enough to read by, yet not noticeable enough to wake any of the others.

With the other hand she held the scroll, and managed somehow to unroll it. As she looked over the paper, she saw that it was written with characters she could read, but not into words that made sense to her mind. When she attempted to sound it out in her head, she found that it made even less sense. It certainly didn't sound like the language she was used to speaking and reading.

Theorizing that perhaps it would make more sense if she read it aloud, Hikari slowly sounded out the syllables as best she could, and it was then that comprehension dawned. It did not sound like the language she spoke because it wasn't. It was a translation of some sort – written in the language it was intended to be spoken, but not in the characters it was intended to be written.

The words sounded vaguely familiar to her when she spoke them aloud, but not clearly enough that she could determine what they meant. Feeling tired, she was about to decide that the task was best suited to one with a mind that was more awake, when she heard a noise a short distance away.

The tent flaps were parting, and Daisuke was emerging from the tent, bleary eyed and obviously still rather tired. He rubbed at his eyes as he walked, and then he saw Hikari.

"What are you doing up?" he asked, squinting toward her. It wasn't clear whether this was due to his half-asleep status or because she was holding a glowing ball of light.

She debated for a few moments what to say, how to explain it. Holding up the parchment in one hand, she finally simply said, "Looking at this."

"What is it?" he wondered, turning and now taking a few steps toward her. He was still squinting blearily, and Hikari doubted very much whether he'd be of any use whatsoever in deciphering the page.

"I don't know," she replied, and held it out to him as he approached. "It was delivered to me a few moments ago."

"Delivered?" he echoed. "Who sends messages at this time of night?"

"I don't know," she said again, and watched as he squinted bleakly at the page. "I think it might have been my father," she said then in a quiet voice.

This statement, if nothing else, appeared to wake Daisuke, for his eyes suddenly opened wide. He glanced at the parchment with a renewed interest, and then sat down beside her. "I don't get it," he said after a moment of study. "It doesn't make any sense."

"I think," Hikari said, "that it might not be in our language. If I read it out loud, it sounds like it might be something I sort of recognize. Here," she said, taking it back from him. Once more, she read the first line of characters aloud, slowly and hesitantly. It sounded like sounds rather than words. When she'd finished, Daisuke was staring at her with a thoughtful expression.

"Read it again," he said then, and so she did, and then went on a few more lines before she stopped, feeling a bit silly.

There was a long silence. "I don't understand," Hikari said aloud. "If it's from my father, why would he send me a message in a language I don't understand? And what is it? If it's not from my father, then…what is it?"

"It sounds," Daisuke said, speaking slowly, "like it might be from the Western Islands. Does that make sense?"

"I know all about of three words in that," she answered with a shrug. "I can say 'love,' 'moon,' and 'hello.'"

"Are any of those words in there?" he asked.

"I don't think so," she replied after a few moments of further study, "but I think you're right about the language. If it's not from the Western Islands, it's probably something from that area." She sighed. "I suppose we'll have to wait on a translation until we get back home."

Daisuke yawned. "I guess so," he said. "What do you think it is, a letter?"

She peered over the document once more. "It doesn't look like that. There's no signature at the bottom, no date, no anything that would usually be in a letter." Quietly, she began to read aloud again, this time in a near-whisper.

For a moment, Daisuke appeared to be listening, as though trying to make some sense of the words of a language he didn't speak. Then, a yawn interrupted him. About halfway through the document (which was all of about ten lines long, but slow reading), Hikari noticed that he winced slightly and placed one hand on his neck. Then, he tilted his head from side to side, trying to work out whatever kinks had appeared.

She read the sixth line, a conglomeration of consonants that made her tongue trip stumble a few times. After reading it, she paused for a moment, wondering if she ought to read it again, as she had probably bungled it a bit. As there was no one listening who would know the difference, she decided against it.

The seventh line, in contrast to the sixth, appeared to be almost entirely vowel sounds. Like the rest of the document, however, it was completely unrecognizable and difficult to read.

It was at this point, seven lines in, that she felt something odd, something magical. _'A spell?'_ she wondered absently, and looked up at Daisuke. He was staring out at nothing now, apparently thinking about the document as much as she was. Disregarding the part of her mind that was suggesting that it might not be such a terrific idea to read a spell when she didn't know what it did, Hikari read on, feeling somewhat irrationally determined to read the whole thing through at least once.

The eighth line was as indecipherable as the rest, but a bit easier to read. By now, Hikari was paying less attention to deciphering the words, and more attention to trying to feel the magic she was almost certain she could sense. The paper felt strange in her hand, not only because it was ancient and deteriorated, but for some other reason.

A chillingly cold breeze whipped across the plains then. Hikari let the ball of light drop to the ground and extinguish, and gripped the parchment with both hands. She turned toward Daisuke, and saw that he was sitting in the exact same position he had been sitting in, still staring at nothing.

Apparently, she thought, the wind was created by magic, and he couldn't feel it. This seemed to be a logical conclusion. She thought, more seriously, that she should stop reading, but even as she thought this, she could hear her voice reading the penultimate line aloud.

At the end of it, she felt light headed, as though all of the blood had rushed to her head and she was about to faint. The wind grew slightly calmer. Squinting through the dim lighting, Hikari read, slowly and deliberately, the last line on the page.

When she had completed the last syllable, the last sound uttered, the wind abruptly halted. Once more feeling light headed, Hikari let the parchment fall from her hands and placed one hand to her forehead. Though she had been sitting, she felt as though she were about to fall, and it seemed as though the world was spinning around her.

While the wind had been blowing, the world had been silent, but now that it had stopped, a cacophony of sound reached her ears. Voices merged with one another, and behind them all was an odd, blaring noise.

"Can't you make that be quiet!?" someone was shouting over the sound.

"I'm working on it!" a voice identifiable as Miyako's shouted back, and then the blaring loudness halted abruptly. "There."

"What happened?" Wormmon was asking. "I don't see any danger."

"Did it malfunction?" Ken questioned almost at the same time as his partner. "There's nothing here."

"I don't know, I don't know," Miyako replied impatiently.

"Maybe you set it up wrong," Hawkmon was suggesting.

"I did not set it up wrong," she replied in a rather cold tone of voice. "Maybe there was something and it left."

"Probably driven off by the loud noise," Ken concluded.

"Well, that's what it's supposed to do."

The world was slowly no longer spinning, and Hikari found that she was once more sitting upon a low, flat rock beside a dead campfire. The cacophony of voices transformed into a hum of conversation (or argument, depending upon how one chose to view it) in the background.

"Are you all right?" Daisuke was asking, looking at her with a confused expression that seemed to suggest that he had been looking at her in such a way for some time now.

"I…think so," she answered. "I think that it was a spell, and it did something, but I don't know what it did."

He blinked a few times, and continued to stare at her with a confused expression that now seemed to suggest that he wasn't sure that was a very good idea. Not being of a magical persuasion himself, he apparently didn't feel qualified to express said opinion, however, because he didn't.

"I don't know," Miyako said rather loudly at that moment. "I don't sense anything nearby. The nature of the alarm would seem to suggest that it was set off by a rather large concentration of magic, but I don't sense _anything_ magical nearby."

"Could it have dissipated quickly?" Ken suggested.

"Even then, it would leave traces," she replied, shaking her head. "A trail, or something. Magic always leaves traces." She rubbed her eyes, then focused her magical sight on the immediate area. "I don't see _anything_ that wasn't here last night when I set the wards."

"So it was a false alarm?" Shijo questioned, and then interrupted himself with a yawn.

"No, that's not possible either," Miyako replied somewhat dismissively, and turned around in a slow circle, studying all the boundaries of the camp. "It wouldn't have gone off if there wasn't a reason for it, and if there was a reason for it, then…."

"Then…?" Ken prompted, for she had left off in the middle of a sentence. She was staring at nothing in particular. He followed her gaze and saw the space where the campfire had been. Daisuke and Hikari were both sitting upon a few stones, and beyond that, a few trees stood. Beyond that was a massive space of the plains.

"Something's different," Miyako said then, and took a few steps further. "Something…," and she tilted her head slightly, narrowing her eyes in Daisuke's direction, "is gone?"

"I didn't touch anything," Daisuke stated immediately, aware of the sudden scrutiny. "I don't know anything about how to disable protection spell wards or whatever you're talking about." He raised both hands in defensive gesture.

"No," Miyako answered, shaking her head dismissively. "Not that." She took a few steps closer to him, squinting ever more intensely at him, so that he leaned backward.

"What?"

She only frowned more deeply and then stretched out her right hand to Hikari, handing her the magic-viewing spectacles, which, for the moment, were not set upon her nose as they ordinarily where. "Tell me if you can see what I see…or rather what I do not see."

Obviously a bit confused by everything, Hikari obediently took the glasses and placed them in front of her eyes. She blinked through them, taking a few moments to get used to the wild colors and swirling auras of magical sight. "If this is what you see all the time," she said then, "it's a wonder you see anything at all."

"It takes some getting used to," Miyako replied with a wave of the hand, brushing this aside. "Look that way." She pointed toward Daisuke, who had passed mildly irritated to confused and back again in the span of a few seconds. "Tell me what you see."

"I don't see anything unusual, if that's what you mean," Hikari replied after a moment, and lowered the glasses before she felt dizzy. "Daisuke doesn't have any magic, so I don't see much. Looking at him is the only thing that looks normal."

"Good," Daisuke mumbled under his breath. "Glad to see one of us is."

"Wait a minute," Ken interrupted before Miyako could react. "Normal? As in no magic around him whatsoever?"

"Yeah," she answered, and another moment passed before she realized the significance of what she had said and seen. "Nothing. Then that spell…."

"What spell?" Miyako immediately questioned before the thought could be completed.

The roll of parchment had fallen to the ground at her feet and now Hikari bent to pick it up. "I suppose it wasn't a good idea to read it without knowing what it was," she said with an apologetic shrug, "though it turned out to be a good idea."

Daisuke had returned to his previous state of absolute confusion. "Wait a minute," he said before Miyako could make some proclamation about the spell or the parchment itself. "What did that do? What does it have to do with me? I don't understand."

"Apparently," Hikari said, "it was what we had been looking for."

"You don't feel any different?" Ken questioned, one eyebrow raised. When Daisuke shook his head after a moment, he frowned in confusion. "I would have thought you'd have felt…something."

He shook his head once more, blankly. "You mean, it's gone? As in, completely gone?"

"So it seems," Miyako said when all eyes turned toward her. "I don't see any trace of it. I can't read a word of what's on this paper, so I don't know if that's what did it, but that would be the best guess."

There was a long silence as all present allowed the news to sink in. Slowly, all eyes turned toward Daisuke, as though waiting for him to make some sort of statement. "Well," he said, after a long moment. "That's a good thing."

"The one thing I'd like to know," Miyako said then, "is where this came from."

She noticed that Hikari and Daisuke exchanged somewhat meaningful glances for a moment. "That," Hikari said then, "is a good question."

* * *

Finally done. Sorry for the delay; I had a nasty cold. Sorry for the general slowness of my writing: life interferes. Sigh. 

As I mentioned previously, there's at least one more story floating in my head. Don't expect it to begin before the end of the month, though.

Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed, especially if you've read from the beginning. You must really like this stuff, and I appreciate any and all comments you might want to pass on.


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